This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership predating 1986. 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.

The petroleum contamination at this site — gasoline-range hydrocarbons and BTEX compounds forming a persistent groundwater plume — is consistent with long-term releases from fueling infrastructure that predates the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based CGL coverage. The scale of remediation already undertaken and still ongoing — excavation, a multi-year vapor extraction system, groundwater monitoring and purging, and planned system upgrades — represents substantial documented cleanup expenditures tied to operations conducted during the pre-1986 policy window. Historical carriers who covered this dealership's operations during that period may be obligated to fund both past and continuing remediation costs.

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.