This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1965. 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 petroleum contamination at this site traces to underground storage tanks estimated to have been installed around 1965 — more than two decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures here — tank removals, soil excavation, groundwater pumping and air stripping, bioaugmentation, and long-term monitoring — are the direct consequence of releases from that pre-1986 fuel infrastructure. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the decades these tanks were in service may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation still under way.

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.