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 in groundwater at this site is a direct marker of leaded gasoline contamination, tying the source of the release to operations predating 1986 — the year leaded gasoline was phased out of commercial use. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to ARCO or its operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable against documented cleanup costs. The remediation expenditures here — repeated chemical injection campaigns, wastewater disposal, and years of intensive monitoring — are the type of costs those historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.