This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility 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 underground storage tanks removed from this property in 1990 were very likely installed decades earlier, placing their operational life squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The petroleum contamination discovered in soil and groundwater — benzene and xylenes among the constituents — is directly tied to releases from those long-operating tanks. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the tanks' pre-1986 service period may still be obligated to recover the investigation and remediation costs incurred to bring this site to its No Further Action status.

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.