This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1966. 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 from 1966 through the 1980s — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures to date — tank removals, soil excavation, contaminated water disposal, bioremediation, and over fifteen years of groundwater monitoring — along with the proposed institutional controls and further soil removal still ahead, represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those two decades of gas station operations may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.