This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1957. 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.

The contamination at this site traces to storage tanks and service infrastructure installed when the facility opened in 1957 — nearly three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. Documented events including a product line replacement in 1979 and a leak tied to a hydraulic hoist replacement in 1986 anchor the contamination timeline firmly to that pre-exclusion window. The remediation costs incurred here — full UST removal, 880 cubic yards of soil excavation, building demolition, dewatering, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operational decades may remain obligated to recover and to fund going forward.

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.