This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a vehicle fueling station alongside a grocery store and mercantile, with two underground storage tanks — 1,000 and 500 gallons — and a covered concrete pump island serving the fueling operation. The former owner recalled the tanks being present at the site as early as the 1950s. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program has included removal of both USTs and the pump island, excavation of approximately 380 tons of contaminated soil, and pumping of 1,550 gallons of petroleum-impacted groundwater. Two monitoring wells were installed in 2003 and sampled in 2004, and Ecology required further investigation and monitoring in 2013 due to persistent contamination; cleanup work remains ongoing. 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.
Gasoline contamination at this site traces to underground storage tanks that were in place as early as the 1950s — more than three decades before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures to date — tank and pump island removal, hundreds of tons of soil excavation, groundwater recovery, well installation, and years of monitoring — address a release rooted squarely in those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the decades the tanks were in service may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the cleanup work Ecology continues to require.
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
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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.