This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1969. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this property traces to underground storage tanks installed around 1969 and operated continuously through the pre-1986 era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, vapor extraction, and groundwater treatment — have already been incurred to address releases from those operations, and the site has not yet reached closure. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the nearly two decades of pre-1986 fuel storage and dispensing may be obligated both to recover costs already spent and to fund the remaining cleanup.

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.