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 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.

Unocal operated an extensive network of gasoline stations across the Pacific Northwest for decades, with most stations in the chain established well before 1986. The petroleum contamination confirmed in groundwater at this Bremerton station — benzene, gasoline, diesel, and solvents — is characteristic of aging underground storage tank infrastructure predating the shift from occurrence-based to claims-made CGL policies. Remediation costs already incurred and still accruing under the ongoing cleanup may be recoverable from historical carriers whose occurrence-based policies were in effect during the station's earlier operational decades.

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.