This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

Underground storage tanks at this property were installed in 1964 — more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum contamination documented here originated from USTs that were in the ground for over 25 years before their removal in 1990, the kind of long-duration, pre-cutoff release those policies were written to address. Twenty-two years of documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, soil excavation, vapor extraction, and long-term monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to recover.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.