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 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.

The presence of leaded gasoline in the underground storage tanks places fuel-dispensing operations at this property squarely before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination addressed here — petroleum releases from aging USTs — is the type of gradual, operations-linked loss those policies were written to cover. Documented remediation costs spanning multiple tank removals, soil excavation, water removal, and on-site bioremediation represent expenditures the historical carriers may be obligated both to recover 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.