This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1949. 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 — TPH fractions spanning gasoline, diesel, and oil ranges — originated from underground storage tanks operated during more than three decades of pre-1986 service station activity. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the operators of the Whetzel property between 1949 and the 1980s had no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable under Washington law. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removals, 2,150 tons of excavated soil, groundwater extraction and treatment, and future long-term monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who wrote policies during that operational window 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.