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.

Contamination at this site — petroleum hydrocarbons and lead from decades of leaded-gasoline dispensing — traces to operations predating 1986 by more than half a century. Ecology UST records confirm tanks installed in 1964 for leaded gasoline, and pre-World War II underground tanks were recovered during later excavations, establishing a contamination origin firmly within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removals, soil excavation and off-site treatment, groundwater recovery — represent costs that historical carriers 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.