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 site were very likely installed in the 1970s or earlier, placing their operational origin well before 1986 — the dividing line when occurrence-based CGL policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims. Benzene and petroleum hydrocarbons detected in groundwater trace directly to releases from those pre-1986 tanks. More than two decades of investigation, monitoring, and remediation expenditures were incurred to reach the site's No Further Action status, and historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the tanks' early operational years may still be obligated to recover those costs.

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.