This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. 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 petroleum contamination beneath this property originated from operations conducted well before 1986 — expert opinion places the release as far back as the early 1970s — during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures here are substantial: 2,000 cubic yards of excavated soil, LNAPL extraction, in-situ bioremediation, a groundwater treatment system, and multi-year monitoring, with cleanup still active. Historical carriers whose CGL policies were in effect during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred 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.