This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1984. 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 property traces to underground storage tank operations that began around 1984 — before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began routinely incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The documented remediation record here — UST removals, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater recovery, long-term monitoring, and provision of alternative drinking water to affected off-site wells — represents both costs already incurred and expenditures that a persistent groundwater plume may yet require. Historical carriers whose CGL policies were in effect during the station's pre-1986 operating years may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the treatment work still to come.

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.