This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This private residence in Des Moines, King County was the site of a leaking underground heating oil tank that released petroleum contamination into soil and groundwater. Cleanup activities under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from 2004 to 2006 and included decommissioning and removing the underground storage tank, excavating approximately 704 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, and completely removing the localized affected groundwater. Confirmational soil sampling verified that cleanup objectives had been met, and the site achieved No Further Action status. 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 contamination at this property originated from an underground heating oil tank that, given its 2006 removal date and typical residential tank lifecycles, was in operation well before 1986 — the threshold year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to reliably cover pollution claims in Washington. The documented remediation costs here — UST decommissioning and removal, excavation of hundreds of tons of petroleum-impacted soil, and groundwater recovery — are the type of expenditures that pre-1986 CGL carriers may still be obligated to recover. Historical policies issued to the property owner during the tank's operational years are a plausible avenue for cost recovery.
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.
