This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1932. 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.

Fuel operations at this site date to 1932 and continued through at least 1985, placing more than five decades of activity squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum releases discovered during tank removal are the product of those long-running pre-1986 operations, not a recent event. Historical carriers who wrote CGL policies covering this station during that window may be obligated both to reimburse the remediation costs already incurred and to fund the cleanup work that remains ahead.

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.