This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1940. 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.

Gasoline operations at this site date to at least 1940 — more than four decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Underground storage tanks installed in 1976 and 1984 stored and dispensed leaded and unleaded gasoline during a period when CGL coverage was routinely issued to fuel retailers. The documented remediation expenditures — soil excavation, hydrocarbon recovery, and decades of groundwater monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who wrote policies during that operational window may be obligated 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.