This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1966. 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 Texaco service station and automotive repair facility in Bellevue, with six underground storage tanks storing gasoline, diesel, waste oil, and heating oil. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program has included removal of all six USTs, associated piping, dispensers, two hydraulic lifts, and an oil/water separator, along with excavation of approximately 1,374 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil and pumping and treatment of over 113,000 gallons of affected groundwater. Five monitoring wells were installed, and the site has remained under regulatory oversight for more than two decades. Cleanup work 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks and fueling infrastructure that served a retail gasoline operation well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank and equipment removal, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater pumping and treatment, monitoring-well installation, and decades of oversight — represent costs the historical carriers who insured the station during its pre-1986 operating years may be obligated both to reimburse and to continue funding.
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.