This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1965. 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 site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated in the mid-1960s through the late 1970s — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Documented remediation costs spanning from the 1998 tank removal through more than a decade of follow-up investigation and monitoring represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as cleanup continues. The long gap between tank abandonment and discovery underscores exactly the kind of gradual, unforeseen release these pre-1986 policies were designed to cover.

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.