This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1966. 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 service station since at least 1966, when the earliest of eleven underground storage tanks were in service. Cleanup activities under the Voluntary Cleanup Program have included the decommissioning of all eleven USTs between 1966 and 2008, associated soil excavation, and the decommissioning of monitoring wells across multiple phases in 1994, 1995, and 2010. Groundwater monitoring and investigation-derived waste management remain ongoing at the site, which continues to operate as an active Shell-branded service station with three 10,000-gallon USTs and two dispenser islands. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site traces to underground storage tanks that were installed and operated decades before 1986, with groundwater monitoring from the early 1990s showing persistent dissolved lead — a signature of historical leaded gasoline, a product predominantly used before the mid-1980s. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation costs already incurred — tank decommissioning, soil excavation, well installation and abandonment, and years of groundwater monitoring — along with the ongoing monitoring obligations, represent expenditures the historical carriers may be obligated both 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.