This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as a gasoline fueling station since at least the 1950s, with the current building constructed in 1965 and three gasoline underground storage tanks installed in 1972. The USTs were removed in 1994, followed by in-situ treatment and groundwater monitoring from 1996 through 2001. A renewed remedial action plan proposed in 2015 calls for in-situ chemical oxidation of affected groundwater at an estimated cost of $25,000 to $35,000, along with continued quarterly groundwater monitoring. Cleanup work under the Voluntary Cleanup Program is 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 fueling operations at this site date to at least the 1950s, and the three underground storage tanks that were the source of contamination were installed in 1972 and operated until their removal in 1994 — placing both the facility's operations and the UST-era squarely within the period when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. More than two decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, in-situ treatment, groundwater monitoring, and a proposed chemical oxidation campaign — represent costs that historical carriers who issued policies during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to recover and to fund going forward.
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.