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 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.

The petroleum release at this former Chevron station originated from underground storage tanks whose operations predated 1986 — the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The full arc of remediation costs here — soil and groundwater cleanup, a year of compliance monitoring, and the regulatory work required to reach No Further Action — was incurred to address contamination tied to those legacy fueling operations. Historical CGL carriers whose policies were in force during the station's pre-1986 operating years may still be obligated to reimburse those documented cleanup expenditures.

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.