This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1959. 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 contamination driving ongoing remediation at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed in 1959 and 1960 — more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still lacked an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented cleanup expenditures — concrete vault removal, soil excavation, groundwater pumping, and long-term monitoring — are directly traceable to petroleum and solvent releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the Shell station operators during that era may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the remediation work 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.