This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1975. 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 contamination at this site — including TPH, BTEX, MTBE, and lead — traces directly to underground storage tank operations that began in 1975, more than a decade before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. Four decades of documented remediation expenditures — emergency response, groundwater treatment, soil excavation, vapor extraction, and long-term monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1975–1986 window may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation work that remains.

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.