This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1946. 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.

Heating oil tanks installed at the time of residential construction in 1946 would have been in operation for roughly four decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began reliably excluding pollution claims. The slow degradation and free-product accumulation documented here — holes in the tanks, widespread soil staining, groundwater impacts — are characteristic of the gradual, long-running releases that pre-1986 occurrence-based policies were written to cover. Tank removals, 180 tons of excavated soil, vacuum groundwater recovery, and footing-drain treatment all represent documented remediation expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL coverage during those pre-1986 decades may still be obligated to fund.

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.