This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1946. 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.

Gas station operations at this property date to 1946 — four decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions in 1986. The petroleum release discovered in 1995 is tied directly to underground storage infrastructure that served those pre-1986 operations, and the documented remediation costs — tank removal, soil excavation, offsite treatment, and ongoing monitoring — are the type of cleanup expenditures that historical CGL 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.