This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1953. 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.

Petroleum fueling and automotive repair operations at this site ran continuously for more than thirty years before 1986, the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The benzene and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination now confirmed in groundwater traces directly to those decades of UST operations and vehicle servicing. Historical carriers who insured this property's commercial operations during the 1953–1985 window may bear obligation both to recover cleanup costs already incurred and to fund the remediation work ahead.

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.