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 presence of lead in groundwater at this site is a chemical signature of leaded gasoline, which was largely phased out before 1986 — placing the origin of contamination squarely within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Decades of documented remediation expenditures — excavation, vapor extraction, air sparging, bioventing, and long-term groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases from those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued policies to ARCO or its predecessors during the station's operating years may still be obligated to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation 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.