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 contamination profile here — petroleum hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, chromium, and creosote — is consistent with operations that predate 1986 by at least a decade; organochlorine pesticides and PCBs were largely phased out or restricted by the late 1970s and early 1980s, and their presence in 1997 soil samples points directly to pre-1986 activity. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued during that operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The documented remediation costs at this site — multi-parcel tank removals, multi-contaminant soil excavation, slag capping, and ongoing groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers 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.