This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1930. 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.

Gasoline operations at this property trace to 1930 — more than five decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies without effective pollution exclusions were the industry standard. The detection of lead in groundwater samples from 1991 and 1993 confirms that leaded gasoline was dispensed here during the pre-1986 era, directly tying historical operations to the contamination now requiring active remediation. The documented expenditures — UST removals, soil excavation, vapor extraction, and more than three decades of groundwater monitoring — represent costs already incurred and ongoing liabilities that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those early decades may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.