This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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.

Lead contamination detected in the groundwater here — at levels exceeding cleanup standards in at least one monitoring well — is a reliable indicator that this Shell station dispensed leaded gasoline, a product phased out of retail sale before 1986. That operational timeline places the contamination's origin within the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and contained no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — tank removals, a multi-well groundwater extraction and treatment system, and years of groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures that historical CGL carriers whose policies covered this station during its leaded-fuel era may still be obligated to fund.

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.