This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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.

Lead contamination in groundwater at this facility points to fuel dispensing operations that were active during the era of leaded gasoline — well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation costs already incurred — ORC injections, years of groundwater monitoring, contaminated-soil disposal — and the costs still ahead as cleanup continues are the type of expenditures those historical CGL policies were written to cover. Carriers who insured the facility's operators during the pre-1986 window may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup spending and to fund the remediation work that remains.

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.