This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1946. 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 property originated from underground storage tanks and dispensing operations that ran for nearly three decades — all of it before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented presence of lead in soil and groundwater points to leaded gasoline releases during that pre-1986 operational window. The remediation costs already incurred and still accumulating — extraction systems, sparging, NAPL recovery, long-term monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the station's operators may be obligated 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.