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 dissolved lead at extreme concentrations in groundwater is direct evidence that this facility dispensed leaded gasoline — a product phased out well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. Decades of documented monitoring, well installation and abandonment, and the current MNA remediation represent substantial cleanup expenditures tied to releases that began during that pre-1986 policy window. Historical carriers who covered the facility's petroleum operations during the leaded-gasoline era may be obligated both to reimburse past remediation costs and to fund the ongoing cleanup.

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.