This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1922. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this property — gasoline-range hydrocarbons and BTEX compounds — traces directly to fuel-dispensing operations that began more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Over two decades of documented remediation expenditures — large-scale soil excavation, UST removal, groundwater treatment, and ongoing monitoring — have already been incurred, with additional remedial work still required. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the site's pre-1986 fueling operations may be obligated both to recover those past costs and to fund the cleanup work that remains.

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.