This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. 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 petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at this Everett property originated from underground fuel storage and dispensing infrastructure that operated for at least two decades before 1986 — the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The 2020 ERTS notification brought pre-existing contamination to regulators' attention rather than reporting a new release, meaning the causative discharges occurred during the precise window those historical CGL policies were in force. Investigation and remediation costs the responsible parties now face for this site could plausibly be funded by carriers whose policies were active during those decades of fuel operations.

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.