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 — 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 hydrocarbon contamination at this site traces directly to underground storage tanks installed and operated from 1956 through 1984 — three decades of pre-1986 operations conducted when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation trail — UST removal, impacted-soil handling, vapor monitoring, and planned groundwater monitoring — represents expenditures attributable to those historical operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the service station operator during the 1956–1984 window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the cleanup work that remains unresolved.

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.