This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1979. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this site traces to leaking underground storage tanks installed and operated from 1979 — seven years before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The documented release was already identified by 1982, squarely within the window when historical carriers were issuing occurrence-based policies to the station's operators. Decades of remediation expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, free product recovery, groundwater monitoring, and the current in-situ injection program — represent costs that those historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund through completion of cleanup.

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.