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 contaminant profile here — gasoline-range petroleum hydrocarbons, BTEX, and diesel- and oil-range hydrocarbons — is characteristic of historical fuel dispensing operations, and the presence of an old catch basin as the apparent contamination source points to infrastructure established well before modern environmental oversight. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies written during earlier decades of site development carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington, leaving historical carriers potentially obligated to fund the investigation, excavation, and vapor intrusion work now underway. For contamination tied to historical subsurface infrastructure, the pre-1986 policy window is a plausible avenue for recovering these ongoing remediation costs.

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.