This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1945. 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 installed as early as 1945 — more than four decades before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures to date — tank removals, tank closures in place, soil excavation, and nearly three decades of groundwater monitoring — represent costs tied directly to operations conducted under those pre-1986 policies. Historical carriers who covered this facility during its decades of fuel dispensing may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation work that remains ahead.

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.