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.
This Tacoma property served as an automobile fuel service station at some point in its history, operating a pump island and three underground storage tanks — two rated at 1,100 gallons and one at 750 gallons — with gasoline contamination confirmed in both soil and groundwater beneath the site. Structures on the property date to as early as 1931, and the USTs are estimated to have been installed prior to 1982. Documented cleanup work to date has included removal of all three tanks and their associated fuel lines, along with excavation of an approximately 60-by-25-by-8-foot pit of impacted soil that was subsequently stockpiled and backfilled on site. The property is currently associated with an autobody repair business, and formal remediation under the Standard Cleanup program remains pending. 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 underground storage tanks at this site were in place and operating before 1982 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The gasoline released into soil and groundwater represents the kind of slow, diffuse contamination those pre-1986 policies were written to address. With formal cleanup still ahead, the property owner faces remediation expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during UST operations may be obligated to fund.
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.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
