This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. 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.

Petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated as far back as the 1950s — more than three decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures here — tank removals, soil excavation, air sparging, vapor extraction, and over two decades of groundwater monitoring still ongoing — represent the kind of long-tail cleanup costs that pre-1986 CGL policies were structured to cover. Historical carriers who provided coverage during the decades those tanks were in service may still bear obligations for both past and continuing remediation costs.

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.