This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1956. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 gasoline USTs at this site were installed as early as 1956 — thirty years before the 1986 threshold that marks when occurrence-based CGL policies began reliably excluding pollution claims — placing the contamination origin squarely within the pre-exclusion era. The groundwater investigation and cleanup alternatives now ahead represent the next phase of remediation expenditures still to come, and those costs are precisely what historical carriers who issued policies against the 1956–1962 operations may be obligated to fund.

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.