This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1971. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this site traces to underground storage tanks installed in the early 1970s — more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The remediation expenditures documented here — large-scale soil removal, vapor extraction, chemical oxidation, air sparging, and nearly three decades of groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases from those pre-1986 fuel storage operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1971-to-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover 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.