This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1973. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tank infrastructure installed in 1973 and 1982 — well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The release from piping connections was not a single sudden event but a slow, cumulative discharge spanning the pre-1986 policy era, exactly the type of occurrence those policies were written to cover. Documented remediation costs — UST removal, large-scale soil excavation, and years of groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who insured the station's operators during that window may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as monitoring continues.

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.