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 fund a cleanup.

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 were installed and operated before the station's 1973 closure — more than a decade before occurrence-based CGL policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions in 1986. The gasoline-range contamination confirmed in soil and groundwater here, including benzene and xylene, represents the kind of slow subsurface release directly tied to those pre-1986 fueling operations. The cleanup costs the property now faces — investigation, remediation design, and eventual soil and groundwater remediation — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force while the station was actively dispensing fuel.

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.