This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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 presence of lead in groundwater at this site traces the contamination origin unmistakably to the era of leaded gasoline — operations that predate 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. Those historical carriers remain potentially obligated to address the costs this site has already incurred — years of groundwater monitoring, well decommissioning, and VCP oversight — as well as the ongoing remediation expenditures the long-term groundwater management program will continue to generate.

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.