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 UST system at this Chevron station required a retrofit in 1996 — strong evidence that the tanks were installed and dispensing fuel well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum contamination discovered during that retrofit traces directly to those earlier decades of fuel storage and dispensing operations. Documented remediation expenditures to date — excavation, soil disposal, groundwater treatment, and years of quarterly monitoring — along with the costs of completing cleanup still ahead, represent obligations that historical CGL carriers may be required to fund.

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.