This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 petroleum contamination at this site traces directly to heating oil and gasoline storage systems that were in active service well before 1986 — documented tank removals in 1977 and 1978 confirm operations during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The two undocumented USTs discovered in 1999, whose fill pipes had been paved over and whose installation the tank lifecycle evidence places around 1974, extend that pre-1986 window further. The remediation expenditures already incurred — soil excavation, groundwater recovery, bioremediation, and long-term monitoring — alongside the costs associated with ongoing monitoring and the residual contamination managed under the restrictive covenant are the type of liabilities that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.