This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 releases at this site originated from underground storage tanks and product lines installed in the early 1970s — more than a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The forensic evidence pinpointing the release to 1974–1976 places the contamination squarely within that pre-1986 policy window. Documented remediation expenditures to date — tank removal, soil excavation, dual-phase extraction, years of groundwater monitoring — along with the future remedial design costs still being scoped, represent obligations that historical CGL carriers may be required both to reimburse 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.