This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1920. 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 storage and dispensing operations at this property date to 1920 — more than six decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions in 1986. The USTs that leaked gasoline and diesel hydrocarbons into groundwater were installed and operated entirely within that pre-1986 window, removed in the 1970s after years of service. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering this property during those decades of fuel operations may still bear obligation for the remediation costs incurred to bring the site to its current 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.