This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1973. 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.

The petroleum contamination detected in groundwater here — MTBE, diesel-range, and gasoline-range hydrocarbons — traces to underground storage tanks installed in 1973, more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began carrying effective pollution exclusions. Carriers who issued CGL policies covering this gas station during its 1973–1998 original-tank operational window may bear an obligation to reimburse the cleanup costs that were 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.