This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1928. 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.

Fuel storage and dispensing at this address began in 1928 and continued for more than four decades before 1986, the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Underground storage tanks were installed — and releases plausibly began — in 1959 and again in 1970, implicating multiple pre-1986 policy periods across Shell's branded operation of the site. The investigative costs already incurred and the remediation work still pending represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those operational decades 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.