This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation 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 contamination here traces to unregulated underground storage tanks associated with a former residence — a designation that implies installation and operation well before the federal UST regulations that became effective in 1986 for existing tanks. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the property operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures — dual UST removals, nearly 2,500 tons of soil disposal, years of groundwater monitoring, and the forthcoming Environmental Covenant — represent both past costs to recover and future compliance obligations that historical carriers 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.