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.

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 contamination at this site is a chronic, ongoing petroleum discharge tied to truck stop operations — exactly the kind of slow, recurring release that occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies in force before 1986 were written to address, before effective pollution exclusions became standard in the industry. A truck stop of this scale, with a documented history of repeat contamination complaints and a continuing release from an oil/water separator, reflects operational patterns that almost certainly predate the 1986 policy shift. The cleanup expenditures this property now faces — investigation, remedial design, and active remediation — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in effect during the years the release was accumulating.

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.