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.

Two successive generations of fuel dispensing and automotive repair operations at this property mean the petroleum contamination — gasoline, diesel, and heating oil — originated from activities almost certainly predating 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation trail here — six UST removals, soil excavation across six separate impacted areas, a vapor barrier installation, and a multi-year groundwater monitoring program — represents expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to the service station operators during that window may be obligated to fund cleanup costs both already incurred and still to come.

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.