This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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 contamination here originated from a pipe leak that the site's own 1993 records characterize as "historical," indicating the UST system and its fueling operations were established well before 1986 — when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies remained the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation trail — two rounds of soil excavation, chemical oxidation injection, years of air sparging and vapor extraction, and continuing groundwater monitoring — represents substantial costs attributable directly to that pre-1986 release. Historical CGL carriers whose policies covered the station during its pre-1986 operating years may be obligated both to recover those past expenditures and to fund the remediation work still ongoing at this active fueling site.

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.