This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1974. 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 petroleum contamination at this property — gasoline-range TPH and BTEX compounds released from underground storage tanks — originated from fueling operations that began in 1974, more than a decade before occurrence-based CGL policies ceased to carry meaningful pollution coverage. Carriers who issued policies to the service station operators during the 1974–1986 window wrote coverage without an effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The documented remediation expenditures — chemical injection treatment and years of groundwater monitoring — represent costs those historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund as cleanup continues.

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.