This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1971. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Seattle Air Corp operated as a commercial airport facility at Boeing Field International in King County, with an underground waste oil storage tank servicing its operations. In 1996, the 500-gallon waste oil UST was excavated and removed after it was found to be leaking, and approximately 7 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil were excavated and disposed of off-site. The site was backfilled and restored, and confirmation soil sampling verified that cleanup standards were met; the site has received a No Further Action determination under the Standard Cleanup 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 waste oil tank at this airport facility was installed approximately 1971 — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum contamination that necessitated tank removal, soil excavation, and site restoration originated from operations conducted under those pre-1986 policies. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage to the facility's operators during that window may still bear obligation for the documented cleanup expenditures incurred to remediate the leaking UST and restore the property to standards.
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
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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.