This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1949. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated continuously from 1949 — nearly four decades before the 1986 cutoff after which occurrence-based CGL policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims. The documented remediation expenditures already incurred — tank removals, hydrocarbon recovery, vapor extraction — and the substantial costs still ahead for soil excavation, a new SVE system, and groundwater treatment represent obligations that historical carriers who wrote CGL policies during that pre-1986 operational window may be required both to reimburse 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.