This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 steel USTs removed from this site in 1990 were very likely installed before 1965, placing the origin of petroleum contamination well within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Multiple operators — Skyway Texaco and Skyway Chevron among them — held policies during those pre-1986 decades while the tanks were actively releasing petroleum into soil and groundwater. With remediation costs still accruing under the Voluntary Cleanup Program more than thirty years after contamination was first documented, historical carriers may be obligated both to recover past expenditures and to fund the cleanup work ahead.

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.