This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1927. 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.

Gasoline dispensing at this property began nearly six decades before 1986, the year pollution exclusions became standard in Commercial General Liability policies. The TPHg and BTEX contamination now documented in soil and groundwater is characteristic of the slow, cumulative releases from underground storage tanks that pre-1986 occurrence-based policies were written to cover without effective exclusion. The remediation costs ahead — active cleanup design, treatment, and long-term monitoring — are the type of expenditure that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those decades of Mobil operations may still be obligated to fund.

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.