This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1920. 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.

Petroleum bulk-plant operations at this site began more than six decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The confirmed diesel and gasoline contamination in groundwater has been traced to legacy operations and weathered product predating the 2016 spill events, placing the contamination origin squarely within the pre-1986 policy window. Remediation costs arising from this decades-old contamination — site characterization, plume delineation, and ongoing cleanup — represent expenditures historical CGL carriers may be obligated both to recover 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.