This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1954. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property was first developed as a Standard gasoline station in 1954, with underground storage tanks installed and operated through subsequent decades. Aerial photographs indicate the original station was removed between 1969 and 1974, though USTs remained on site — three gasoline tanks were removed during the 1980s, and four additional tanks totaling 14,000 gallons of capacity were excavated along with the pump island and canopy in 1995. Cleanup has included removal and off-site disposal of contaminated groundwater, nutrient-enhanced bioremediation of excavated soil monitored from 1995 through 1998, and a 2013 determination that further investigation or cleanup action is still required. 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 property is explicitly tied to leaking underground storage tanks that were installed and operated beginning in 1954 — more than three decades before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The documented remediation costs already incurred — tank removals, groundwater recovery, multi-year soil bioremediation — along with the additional investigation and cleanup work still required represent expenditures that historical carriers who wrote policies during the 1954-through-1986 operational window may be obligated both to reimburse 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.