This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible

Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.

The diesel contamination documented here traces to underground storage tanks that were in active service before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies routinely covered pollution-related claims without effective exclusion. The full cleanup of residual TPH in soil and groundwater still lies ahead, and the costs that entails — investigation design, active remediation, and long-term monitoring — are precisely the type of forward exposure those pre-1986 policies were structured to fund. Property owners facing that pending cleanup obligation may find that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the pre-1986 operational window remain obligated to cover the costs to come.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.