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.

Lead contamination detected in both soil and groundwater at this site as early as 1993 points to the historical use of leaded gasoline — a product largely phased out before 1986 — establishing that the contamination-causing operations predate the shift away from occurrence-based CGL policies. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removal, soil excavation, off-site treatment, and years of groundwater monitoring — represent cleanup costs tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the leaded-gasoline era may still be obligated to cover those costs.

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.