This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1954. 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.

Gasoline storage and dispensing at this site began in 1954 — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented presence of a leaded gasoline UST confirms that the contamination source was active during the very era those policies were written, and the attribution of impacted soil and groundwater to historical gasoline station operations and long-removed USTs makes clear that no recent accident accounts for the liability. The remediation record here — UST removals, nearly 525 tons of excavated soil, ongoing groundwater monitoring, and a further construction-phase excavation still to come — reflects expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover 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.