This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1940. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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.

Gasoline service and automotive repair operations at this property began in the 1940s — more than four decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to be the industry standard. The contamination now confirmed in groundwater, including chlorinated solvents and petroleum compounds at concentrations well above state standards, traces to decades of fuel storage and vehicle servicing at a facility that operated entirely within the pre-1986 CGL window. The cleanup costs this property now faces — investigation, remedial design, and full-scale remediation — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in effect during those 27 years of operation.

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.