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.

The documented presence of leaded gasoline in the site's USTs establishes that fueling operations were active before 1986 — the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents now detected at the property trace directly to those pre-1986 operations, not to any discrete recent event. With over three decades of documented investigation and containment expenditures on the books and a formal remedial investigation still forthcoming, historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the leaded-gasoline era may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the cleanup work ahead.

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.