This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1920. 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-range petroleum hydrocarbons and BTEX contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Over two decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, soil excavation, groundwater treatment, air sparging, and long-term monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that operational window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation that remains 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.