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.

The gasoline release at this property originated from fuel storage operations that predated modern UST regulations — a tank so old it was undisclosed until ground-penetrating radar located it decades later. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to operators of this property during the pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable today. The remediation expenditures documented here — UST closure-in-place, soil excavation and capping, institutional controls, and years of required monitoring — are precisely the kind of costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those operations 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.