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 contamination profile at this ARCO station — gasoline, benzene, MTBE, and lead from underground storage tanks — is characteristic of releases from long-standing petroleum operations predating 1986. MTBE contamination in particular points to fuel storage from the late 1970s through the early 2000s, a period when occurrence-based CGL policies were still in effect and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The remediation costs incurred here — chemical oxidation and extended groundwater monitoring — represent the type of cleanup expenditures that historical carriers who insured the station during its pre-1986 operations 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.