This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1960. 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 benzene and petroleum contamination at this site traces directly to USTs installed and operated during a window — 1960 through 1983 — when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and their pollution exclusions were not yet effective in Washington. Contamination has persisted for more than two decades after those tanks were removed, the kind of slow, ongoing release that pre-1986 policies were written to address. The documented remediation trail — two rounds of tank removals, soil excavation, in-situ chemical treatment, and over twenty years of groundwater monitoring — represents costs the historical carriers who covered Chevron's operations during that period may be obligated both to recover and to fund as additional remediation proceeds.

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.