This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1930. 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 documented at this property traces directly to underground storage tanks and fuel-dispensing operations that ran from 1930 through 1970 — a forty-year span ending sixteen years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. Carriers who issued CGL policies to Standard Stations Inc. or subsequent operators during that window were writing coverage against precisely the kind of slow subsurface petroleum release now confirmed here. With site investigation complete and remediation expenditures still ahead, those historical policies may represent a recoverable source of funding for the cleanup work to come.

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.