This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1975. 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.

Gasoline dispensing operations at this station began in 1975, more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions in 1986. The petroleum and benzene contamination found in groundwater here traces directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations, and the remediation costs incurred — tank removal, six years of air sparging and vapor extraction — are the type of documented cleanup expenditures that historical CGL carriers may be obligated to cover.

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.