This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1978. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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 heating oil release at this property originated from a corroded underground storage tank that professional investigators believe may have been leaking since the 1960s or earlier, with the residence constructed circa the 1930s and the tank confirmed in service by the late 1970s — well before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued during that pre-1986 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. More than a decade of documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, free product recovery, and quarterly groundwater monitoring from 2004 to 2017 — represent cleanup costs that historical carriers who covered the property during the contamination period may still be obligated to reimburse.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.