This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1984. 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.

The contamination at this site — including Total Lead detected in groundwater as early as April 1992, a signature of leaded gasoline that was phased out for consumer vehicles by the mid-1980s — originates from UST operations that were underway before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to this facility's operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation costs here — product recovery, vapor extraction, and decades of groundwater monitoring — are expenditures that historical carriers 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.