This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. 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.

The highest concentrations of petroleum contamination at this site trace directly to the former gasoline station's underground fuel storage, which predated 1986 by more than three decades, and to a Bunker oil UST that remained active until sometime in the 1980s. Fourteen historic USTs place the contamination origin squarely within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The ongoing groundwater treatment obligation means remediation costs here are not fully resolved — historical carriers whose policies covered operations during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover documented cleanup expenditures and to fund the treatment work still under way.

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.