This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1988. 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 property originated from underground storage tanks and fuel distribution infrastructure installed in 1988 and operated continuously through the discovery of releases in 2002. The documented remediation expenditures — multiple soil excavations, years of vapor extraction and air sparging, and over two decades of groundwater monitoring — represent substantial cleanup costs tied to operations that may have been covered under occurrence-based CGL policies issued during the late 1980s and early 1990s. With cleanup still ongoing and future remedial work under evaluation, historical carriers who insured the facility during the period of contamination may be obligated both to recover past costs and to fund the remaining remediation.

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.