This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1976. 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 contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated continuously from 1976 — a full decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, and more than three decades of regulatory oversight — trace directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the station's operators during the 1976–1986 window may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation still underway.

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.