This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1928. 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.

Fuel dispensing operations at this property date to at least 1928 — more than five decades before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The gasoline-range hydrocarbons, BTEX compounds, and PAHs now documented in the soil are the direct product of those long-running pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers whose CGL policies covered this site during that operational window may be obligated both to recover the remediation expenditures already incurred and to fund the institutional controls and ongoing monitoring still required to bring the site to closure.

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.