This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1955. 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.

Diesel fueling and distribution operations at this site began more than three decades before 1986, with underground storage tanks likely installed by the late 1970s or earlier based on their 2004 decommissioning. The petroleum-diesel contamination found in groundwater — tied by investigators to a historical release, not merely the 2008 incident — is the type of long-duration environmental liability that occurrence-based CGL policies of that era were designed to address. Documented remediation expenditures, from UST decommissioning through site characterization and ongoing groundwater cleanup, represent costs that historical 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.