This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1960. 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.

Gasoline contamination at this property originated from service station operations that ran from approximately 1960 through 1976, entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. LNAPL fingerprinting confirmed the contamination matches gasoline from the mid-1970s or earlier, tying the release squarely to that insured period. The documented remediation costs — large-scale soil excavation, groundwater pumping, vapor extraction, and perpetual monitoring under engineered and institutional controls — represent expenditures the historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.