This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Orting Soldiers Home, operated by the Washington State Department of General Administration and the Department of Veteran Affairs, stored diesel and leaded and unleaded gasoline in three underground storage tanks on the property. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program began in 1995 with the removal of those tanks and excavation of 80–84 cubic yards of contaminated soil, followed by on-site bioremediation and quarterly groundwater monitoring from 1997 through 1998. In 2023, an interim remedial action injected 760 pounds of an oxidative bioremediation agent into the subsurface, and ongoing quarterly groundwater monitoring has been recommended. Cleanup work remains active. 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.
The petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that held leaded gasoline — a fuel phased out well before 1986 — confirming that the releases date to an era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Nearly three decades of documented remediation expenditures, from tank removals and soil treatment through the 2023 bioremediation injection and continuing groundwater monitoring, represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse 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.
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.
