This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1975. 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 grocery store and gas station in a residential neighborhood in Olympia, with three underground storage tanks used to store fuel. By March 1999 the facility was abandoned and an inspection revealed that rising groundwater had caused the USTs to surface, releasing gasoline into the surrounding environment. Cleanup activities from 1999 through 2000 included pumping and emptying product from the tanks, placement of 40 cubic yards of sand to mitigate immediate hazards, and full excavation and removal of the underground storage tanks. Legal actions were initiated to recover the associated cleanup costs. 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 property were installed decades before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum release discovered here — gasoline, benzene, toluene, and xylenes — is directly attributable to those long-buried tanks and the fuel operations they supported. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies while those tanks were in service may be obligated to reimburse the documented remediation expenditures and to fund any further cleanup work the site requires.
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.