This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. 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 storage and dispensing operations at this property began in 1950 — thirty-six years before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The petroleum contamination now confirmed in groundwater traces to underground storage tanks installed and operated during that pre-1986 window, when CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The cleanup costs this property now faces — investigation, remedial design, and active remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons and benzene in groundwater — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force during the decades of fuel storage and dispensing operations.

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.