This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1930. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this site — gasoline, diesel, and BTEX compounds — originated from storage tanks installed and operated across multiple decades beginning in 1930, well before 1986 when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still written without effective pollution exclusions. The documented sequence of UST installations spanning 1930 through the mid-1960s, followed by releases confirmed in soil and groundwater, ties this contamination directly to the pre-1986 operational window. The remediation expenditures incurred to date — UST removals, soil excavation, groundwater injection treatment, and continuing monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that decades-long operational period 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.