This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1980. 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 heating oil UST at this property is estimated to have been installed around 1980, placing its operational years within the pre-1986 window when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Ecology's record characterizes this as a 'historical release' — contamination that accumulated during the tank's earlier operating years — and two separate rounds of soil removal more than seventeen years apart demonstrate that the full extent of that release was not resolved in 2005. Costs tied to the ongoing characterization and any future remediation at this site may be recoverable from carriers who issued policies while that tank was in service.

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.