This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. 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 UST system at this property was exhibiting age-related failure — a cracked flange — by April 1988, just two years after the 1986 cutoff, strongly indicating the tanks were installed and dispensing gasoline well before that date. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the station's operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The scale of remediation here — over six million gallons of contaminated groundwater treated, tank removal, and years of site work — represents substantial documented expenditures that the historical carriers who covered those pre-1986 operations may be obligated to reimburse.

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.