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 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 tank at this property was installed and operated years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination that required remediation — PAHs and petroleum-diesel range hydrocarbons in groundwater — resulted from decades of operation of that pre-1986 infrastructure. The documented cleanup expenditures, from tank removal and groundwater recovery to multi-quarter monitoring, represent costs that historical CGL carriers who insured the facility during its pre-1986 operational period may still be obligated to cover.

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.