This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 underground storage tanks at this property are estimated to have been installed around 1970, and lead detected in soil at the removed tank locations is a direct indicator of pre-1986 gasoline use — placing the contamination origin squarely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. Nearly three decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, pump-and-treat operations, vapor extraction, bioremediation, and long-term monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who issued policies during those pre-1986 operations may be obligated both to recover and to fund as cleanup continues.

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.