This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1928. 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 petroleum contamination at this property traces directly to a service station that operated from the late 1920s to 1950 — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The scale of documented remediation here — multiple large-volume soil excavation campaigns, groundwater extraction, and structural mitigation measures — represents substantial costs attributable to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers whose policies were in effect during the decades of active service station use may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation that remains ongoing.

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.