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 underground storage tanks at this property were in service well before 1986, predating the federal UST regulations that required leak detection and corrosion protection beginning in 1988. The scale of contamination — over a thousand tons of impacted soil excavated to 17–18 feet and extensive groundwater contamination with petroleum hydrocarbons and benzene — reflects decades of subsurface releases from aging tank infrastructure. Historical carriers who issued occurrence-based CGL policies during that pre-1986 operational window, when no effective pollution exclusion applied, may still be obligated to recover the remediation costs incurred at this site.

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.