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 Hoquiam site date to the 1920s — more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to be the industry standard. The successive operators who ran fuel storage and distribution here during that pre-1986 window held CGL policies with no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. With documented groundwater contamination requiring ongoing remediation and off-site migration extending the liability footprint, historical carriers who issued those policies may be obligated to fund both past and future cleanup expenditures.

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.