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 petroleum contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks that, based on the industry-standard 25-year tank lifecycle applied to their 1990 removal, were likely installed around 1965 — more than two decades before occurrence-based CGL policies began excluding pollution claims. The documented remediation record — UST removal, petroleum-contaminated soil investigation, and surface-water impacts reaching Lake Washington — represents the type of long-tail environmental liability that pre-1986 carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund going forward. With cleanup still underway, both past expenditures and future remediation costs remain at issue.

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.