This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1959. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

Fuel dispensing operations at this property began in 1959 — more than two decades before 1986 — and a documented release event occurred as early as 1963, well within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. The remediation record here is extensive: UST removals, large-scale soil excavation, vapor extraction spanning more than three decades, and long-running groundwater monitoring represent costs already incurred. With cleanup ongoing, historical carriers whose policies were in force during those early operational years may be obligated both to recover past expenditures and to fund the remediation work that remains.

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.