This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 "unknown and unregistered" status of this diesel UST strongly implies installation and operation predating the federal registration requirements that took effect around 1986 — the same era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination pattern here, attributed to historical leakage rather than a discrete spill, is precisely the type of slow ongoing release those pre-1986 policies were written to address. Cleanup costs — excavation, characterization drilling, and the unresolved remediation beneath the building foundation — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the tank's operational life may be obligated to fund.

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.