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 underground storage tanks at this former service station were in operation well before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies routinely covered pollution-related cleanup costs and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The gasoline releases confirmed in soil and groundwater here represent exactly the type of slow, ongoing contamination those policies were written to address. Cleanup costs the property owner faces — investigation, interim actions already performed, and remediation still ahead — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the tanks' operating years may be obligated to fund.

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.