This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1962. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 in 1962 and operated for nearly a quarter-century before their removal in 1986 — the entire span of the occurrence-based CGL policy era in which pollution exclusions were not yet effective in Washington. Decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, vapor extraction infrastructure, and more than twenty years of groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1962–1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the ongoing monitoring program.

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.