This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1925. 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.

The underground storage tanks that produced contamination here were installed and operated across more than five decades of pre-1986 service station activity, a period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Leaking UST contamination of the kind identified at this property in 2001 — originating from operations stretching back to 1925 — is precisely the slow, historical release those policies were written to address. The investigation, remedial design, and active cleanup that still lie ahead for this property are expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to fund.

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.