This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1890. 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 storage at this property — heating oil for the 1919 building, bunker fuel oil for building mechanical systems, and operations spanning a used car dealership era beginning in 1962 — was well established decades before 1986. The PAHs, benzene, and petroleum hydrocarbons now detected in groundwater trace to those long-standing operations and their underground storage infrastructure. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the property's operators during that pre-1986 window may carry obligations both to recover remediation costs already incurred and to fund the cleanup work still ahead under the active Consent Decree.

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.