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.

Petroleum contamination at this site — including lead, TPH, and BTEX — originated from underground storage tanks that stored and dispensed leaded gasoline, placing their operation squarely in the pre-1986 window when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures to date — tank removal, soil excavation, groundwater treatment, free-product recovery, and vapor extraction — represent costs the historical carriers may be obligated to reimburse, while the ongoing cleanup work and monitoring create continuing obligations those same policies may be required to fund.

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.