This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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 presence of lead contamination in groundwater at this site is a strong indicator of operations involving leaded gasoline — fuel that was largely phased out by 1986 — placing the contamination origin squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs here — tank and infrastructure removal, soil excavation, dewatering, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 operations, and historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during that window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund monitoring that continues.

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.