This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1930. 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 releases at this property are attributed to structural failure and overfill of tanks that were in active service for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Those pre-1986 policies — issued to the operators during the years this station was dispensing gasoline — remain enforceable and may obligate historical carriers to fund both the remediation costs already incurred and the investigation and cleanup work the site still requires. A contamination origin tied to long-running pre-1986 fuel operations is precisely the factual predicate on which historical CGL coverage turns.

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.