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.

Lead detected in groundwater at this site is a direct marker of leaded gasoline, a product phased out of commercial sale before 1986 — placing the contamination origin squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. More than two decades of documented remediation under the VCP, with additional cleanup still ahead, represent both past expenditures and forward-looking costs that historical carriers may be obligated to fund. The pre-1986 operational signature here provides a grounded basis for pursuing insurance coverage written before the industry-wide pollution exclusion became standard.

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.