This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1975. 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.

The petroleum contamination at this site is tied to underground storage tank operations that predate 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. More than twenty years of documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, excavation, and long-term groundwater and NAPL monitoring — represent costs incurred to address releases originating from those pre-1986 operations. With cleanup still underway, historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's early operational window may be obligated both to recover past remediation costs and to fund the monitoring and corrective work that lies ahead.

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.