This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1905. 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 petroleum contamination here traces directly to underground storage tanks and fueling operations that were active for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation expenditures at this property — contaminated soil excavation, installation of an active vapor mitigation system, long-term operation and maintenance of engineered controls, institutional controls, and financial assurance — all flow from releases tied to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the fueling station operators during its operational window may bear an obligation to fund the continuing costs of those controls and monitoring.

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.