This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1967. 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 originated from underground storage tanks installed in 1967 and operated for two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank and structure removal, large-scale soil excavation and bioremediation, and more than two decades of groundwater monitoring — represent costs the historical carriers may be obligated to recover, while ongoing quarterly monitoring recommendations to achieve site closure mean additional cleanup spending likely lies 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.