This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1963. 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.

Fuel dispensing and automobile service operations began at this property in 1963, placing more than two decades of continuous petroleum handling squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented release of benzene, lead, and petroleum hydrocarbons — including off-property groundwater migration — is precisely the kind of long-duration, progressive contamination those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators during the 1963-to-1986 window may be obligated to recover the cleanup costs incurred to achieve the site's 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.