This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1910. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 storage and sales at this property spanned roughly seven decades before 1986, beginning as early as 1910 and continuing through the early 1980s. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the operators during that long pre-1986 window — including the period of the Shell Oil Company lease — carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The contamination released during tank removal in the early 1980s is directly tied to those decades of underground fuel storage, and the cleanup costs the property now faces could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force when the tanks were installed and operated.

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.