This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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 gasoline range organics, BTEX compounds, and MTBE detected at this site originated from underground storage tanks whose installation predates 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began carrying effective pollution exclusions. Pre-1986 CGL policies issued to the cooperative's operators during that window were written to cover exactly this type of slow, ongoing petroleum release from fuel storage infrastructure. The documented remediation costs — source excavation, multi-year groundwater treatment infrastructure, and more than two decades of monitoring and system maintenance — represent expenditures that historical carriers may still 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.