This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1956. 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 gasoline service station and auto repair business with underground storage tanks dating to at least the mid-1950s, including tanks holding regular unleaded, supreme unleaded, and regular leaded gasoline. Four USTs were removed in 1991, and cleanup activities under the Voluntary Cleanup Program have included soil stockpiling, a 2004 excavation, and a proposed cleanup action plan calling for excavation of an estimated 4,400 cubic yards of contaminated soil, dewatering with onsite treatment, potential ORC injection, off-site soil disposal, and at least two additional years of quarterly groundwater monitoring. 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 site originated from underground storage tanks installed decades before 1986 — at least two of which were more than 35 years old when removed in 1991. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued during that pre-1986 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable today. The documented and anticipated remediation costs here — UST removals, multiple soil excavations, groundwater treatment, and years of monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers 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.