This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1926. 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.

Gasoline contamination at this Tacoma property is tied directly to underground storage tank operations that began nearly six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Two distinct eras of service station operations — spanning from at least 1926 into the 1970s — created the contamination record now driving active remediation. Historical carriers that issued CGL policies to the operators during any portion of that pre-1986 window may bear obligations both to recover documented cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work that lies ahead.

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.