This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1934. 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.

Gasoline contamination at this site — TPH-G, BTEX, and MTBE — traces directly to underground storage tank operations that began in the 1930s and continued for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The multi-decade remediation record, from tank removal and soil excavation through long-term assessment and site control, represents documented cleanup expenditures tied to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operating years may be obligated both to recover past 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.