This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1912. 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.

Bulk petroleum storage and distribution at this property spanned more than seven decades before 1986, the period during which occurrence-based CGL policies were routinely issued without effective pollution exclusions. The subsurface contamination here is explicitly tied to releases from those pre-1986 bulk terminal operations — not a recent incident. Historical carriers whose policies were in effect during the decades of active terminal operations may be obligated to fund both previously incurred remediation costs and those yet 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.