This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1935. 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 contamination at this Vancouver property is directly traceable to gasoline service station operations that ran from 1935 to 1970 — entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The subsurface investigation costs already incurred and the remediation work still ahead represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those three-and-a-half decades of operation 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.