This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This cooperative farm property on Bainbridge Island has historically been used for agricultural purposes, with two underground storage tanks — an 800-gallon gasoline tank and a 500-gallon diesel tank installed in the 1970s — used to fuel farming equipment. Both USTs were removed in October 2017 along with associated piping, and a remedial excavation removed approximately 449 tons of contaminated soil, with over-excavation performed in areas where residual benzene was detected. Confirmatory soil sampling in May 2021 established that remediation was successful, and Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in October 2021. 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 petroleum release at this site originates from underground storage tanks installed more than a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Scaling and pitting observed on both tanks at removal are consistent with a gradual, historical release — the type of slow-onset contamination event those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. The documented remediation costs here — dual UST removals, excavation of 449 tons of impacted soil, and confirmatory sampling — represent expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the tanks' operational years may 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.
