This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

Lead detected in soil samples during a 2004 investigation confirms that leaded gasoline was dispensed at this station — a fuel phased out well before 1996, placing the contamination origin squarely in the pre-1986 era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. More than three decades of documented remediation and monitoring costs — tank removals, soil excavation, ongoing groundwater surveillance, and prospective covenant obligations — flow directly from those historical fueling operations. The carriers who issued CGL policies during the years leaded gasoline was sold here may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work that remains.

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.