This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 underground storage tanks at this property were installed and in service well before 1986, the year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The slow subsurface migration of petroleum hydrocarbons — the contamination mechanism documented here — is exactly the continuing-release scenario those pre-1986 policies were written to address. With cleanup yet to begin in earnest, the costs ahead — site design, active soil and groundwater treatment, long-term monitoring — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force when the contamination first originated from those tanks.

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.