This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1955. 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.

Fuel dispensing operations at this property began roughly three decades before 1986, and the absence of MTBE in the contamination profile confirms the releases originated from older fuel formulations consistent with that pre-1986 era. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during the 1950s-through-1985 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The cleanup costs the property now faces — remedial design, soil and groundwater remediation, long-term monitoring — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in effect when gasoline first leaked from those underground tanks.

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.