This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. 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.

Petroleum and lead contamination at this property originated from fueling infrastructure installed and operated from 1968 through the mid-1980s, squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater treatment, and a monitoring network maintained since 2011 — represent costs already incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations, with further monitoring obligations ahead. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the station's operators during that window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation work still under way.

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.