This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1936. 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 gasoline station that contaminated this property operated continuously from 1936 through 1967 — a full three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Leaking underground storage tanks from that era deposited the petroleum contamination now requiring active abatement: a soil vapor extraction system is already in operation, and hundreds of cubic yards of affected soil are earmarked for excavation. Historical carriers that issued CGL policies to the station's operators during any portion of those thirty-one years of operation may be obligated to fund both the remediation costs already incurred and the significant excavation work that lies ahead.

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.