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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as the Unocal 6690 gasoline service station, dispensing gas and diesel through underground storage tanks that were decommissioned and removed in 1990. Cleanup activities included the removal of three USTs along with associated product lines and dispensers, overexcavation and off-site disposal of approximately 70 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil, and quarterly groundwater monitoring conducted from 1990 through at least April 1992. The site has received a No Further Action determination from Washington State Ecology. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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 gasoline, diesel, and BTEX contamination at this Bellevue property originated from underground storage tank operations that were in place well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. A release notification filed in December 1990 confirms that the contaminating event is tied directly to that pre-1986 operational era. The documented remediation expenditures here — UST removal, soil excavation, and multi-year groundwater monitoring — represent cleanup costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operating years may still be obligated to recover.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
