This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has been in industrial use since the 1920s as a mill site, later developed in the 1950s into a truck shop with diesel and gasoline underground storage tanks and a waste oil tank. Remediation has included excavation and removal of a 10,000-gallon UST, in-place closure of a 1,000-gallon gasoline UST and a 500-gallon waste oil tank, and replacement of a 1,000-gallon diesel UST; the gasoline UST was closed in 1986 and further tank removals occurred in 1995. Cleanup work is ongoing. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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.
Fuel storage and truck maintenance operations at this property began in the 1950s, placing the contamination-generating activities squarely within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — UST excavations, tank closures, and waste oil management — are traceable directly to petroleum releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the decades when diesel, gasoline, and waste oil were actively stored on this property may remain obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the work still ahead.
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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
