This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Exxon service station in Lynnwood operated with underground storage tanks that were removed and assessed in 1992 and 1993. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included remedial excavation of petroleum-contaminated soil, operation of remediation systems from 1996 through 1998, and extensive groundwater monitoring and sampling spanning from at least 1990 through 2007. The site received a No Further Action determination following well destruction in 2004 and completion of the long-term monitoring program. 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 underground storage tanks at this station were in service well before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Nearly two decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, active remediation systems, and long-term groundwater monitoring — were required to address petroleum releases that originated from those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage during the years those tanks were in use may still be obligated to reimburse those cleanup costs.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.