This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1917. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as an automotive service garage from at least 1917 and as an automotive shop continuously from prior to 1974 through 1990, with underground storage tanks for diesel and gasoline fueling operations throughout that period. Under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, cleanup included removal of a 300-gallon diesel UST and a 700-gallon gasoline UST along with 600 gallons of associated water, excavation of 483 tons of HVOC/VOC-contaminated soil and 366 tons of petroleum hydrocarbon- and lead-contaminated soil, installation of four groundwater monitoring wells, and four consecutive quarters of groundwater sampling in 2013. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Automotive operations at this property began in 1917 — nearly seven decades before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies lost their effective pollution coverage. The presence of lead-contaminated soil in the UST footprint independently corroborates pre-phase-out operations, and the use of trichloroethene as a degreasing solvent was characteristic of auto shops during the era when pre-1986 CGL policies were in force without meaningful pollution exclusions. Historical carriers who issued coverage during that operational window may be obligated for the documented remediation costs: two UST removals, nearly 850 tons of excavated contaminated soil, and multi-year groundwater monitoring.
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.
