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 — 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 contamination at Jensen Warehouse traces to a leaking underground storage tank at a historical petroleum bulk storage operation — exactly the kind of slow, subsurface release that occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued before 1986 were written to address. The site's characterization as a historical property and the LUST-sourced release pattern together indicate that the responsible operations and the initial contamination predate the 1986 threshold at which pollution exclusions became standard in CGL policies. Carriers that issued occurrence-based coverage to Jensen Warehouse or its predecessor operators during that pre-1986 period may retain an obligation to fund the ongoing soil management and Standard Cleanup costs the site now faces.

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.