This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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.

Contamination at this property — gasoline, benzene, and xylenes in soil and groundwater — is explicitly attributed to former gasoline service station operations that predate 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — UST removal, soil excavation, and more than a decade of groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those historical operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operating years may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work that remains ahead.

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.