This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1976. 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 1976, a full decade before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The groundwater contamination confirmed beneath the site — with benzene exceeding its cleanup level by a factor of seventeen and xylenes by nearly five hundred — points to a substantial and sustained release from those pre-1986 operations that will require extended monitoring and remediation to resolve. Historical carriers who insured the facility during that operational window may bear obligation for the costs now required to bring groundwater concentrations back to regulatory standards.

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.