This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1947. 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 detection of 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC) in groundwater — a documented additive to leaded gasoline — directly ties the contamination at this site to gasoline dispensing operations conducted during the era when occurrence-based CGL policies were standard and contained no effective pollution exclusion. With the facility building itself dating to 1947, the service station's operational years fall squarely within that pre-1986 window. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removal, multi-area soil excavation, chemical injection treatment, and ongoing monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those operating years may be obligated both to recover and to fund as the cleanup advances.

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.