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.

Petroleum contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks that stored leaded gasoline — a product phased out of commercial sale well before 1986 — confirming that the release began during the era of occurrence-based CGL policies with no effective pollution exclusion. Two decades of documented remediation expenditures, from UST removal and large-scale soil excavation to free product recovery and long-term groundwater monitoring, represent costs that historical carriers who covered these operations may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as additional cleanup proceeds.

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.