This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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.

Fuel-station operations at this property began in 1964 — more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The benzene, petroleum, solvent, and lead contamination found in groundwater here traces to those decades of fuel dispensing and storage in single-wall steel tanks. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering this property during its 1964–1986 operational window may be obligated to recover the remediation costs that brought the site to its No Further Action status.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.