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 releases at this facility originated from bulk petroleum handling infrastructure — a pump cooling line, a prover loop, and a process sump identified as an underground storage tank — whose installation and operation predate 1986, the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies covered pollution events without effective exclusions. Contamination tied to those operational components falls squarely within the coverage window of pre-1986 CGL policies issued to the facility's historical operators. The documented remediation costs here — multi-year sparge and vapor extraction systems, a UST removal, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures 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.