This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 orphan designation is the defining fact here: because no current owner or operator has been linked to the tank's installation or years of in-ground use, the practical route to cleanup cost recovery runs through the historical insurance record — specifically, the occurrence-based CGL policies held by whoever operated or maintained the tank before 1986. The rusted-out holes and soil staining at this location establish that contamination was accumulating over an extended period of underground operation, placing the triggering occurrence within that pre-1986 policy window. The documented remediation costs — tank decommissioning, soil excavation, and the planned concrete cap over residual petroleum hydrocarbons — are precisely the expenditures those historical policies may 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.