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 contamination at this site — including ethylene dibromide (EDB) and lead at concentrations exceeding cleanup levels — is characteristic of leaded gasoline, a product phased out well before 1986. That chemical signature ties the release directly to historical service station operations conducted during the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs already incurred — tank removals, soil excavation, years of groundwater monitoring, vapor extraction — and those still ahead represent expenditures the historical carriers 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.