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.

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 property traces directly to pump station leaks from the Shell gasoline station that operated here through the 1970s — well before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based CGL coverage. Shell and its franchisee operators would have carried CGL policies during those years, policies whose occurrence-based triggers attach to the contamination event rather than its discovery. The excavation and tank-removal costs now facing this property — estimated at up to $50,000 — represent expenditures that the carriers behind those pre-1986 Shell-era policies may 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.