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.

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 gasoline contamination at this property traces to a service station that operated during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies had no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. Because remediation has not yet begun, the costs ahead — soil and groundwater treatment, long-term monitoring, and regulatory closure — are exactly the type of expenditures that historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during those pre-1986 operating years may be obligated to fund. The documented TPH-G contamination and the site's long regulatory history establish the factual predicate for pursuing those historical policies before cleanup costs are incurred.

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.