This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 August 1984 leaded-product release at this site occurred while Exxon was the operator — squarely within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington State. That release, combined with contamination traced to USTs installed from 1970 onward, generated the remediation trail now being worked through: over 81,000 gallons of extracted groundwater, thousands of pounds of hydrocarbons recovered, and years of active extraction systems. Historical carriers who wrote CGL coverage for Exxon's operations at this Kirkland property during those pre-1986 years may be obligated both to recover those documented expenditures and to fund the cleanup costs that remain.

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.