This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property in Lake Stevens operated as an Exxon gasoline dealership — the Lake Stevens Minimart — with underground storage tanks for gasoline and diesel, at least one of which has been unused since the 1960s. Site assessments conducted from 1990 through 1991 identified contamination from degraded gasoline and diesel in the USTs, leading to tank removals in 1992 and a hydraulic lift removal, with excavation of contaminated soil and recovery of an estimated 250 to 500 gallons of liquid product. Follow-up assessment continued through 2002, and the site remains in Awaiting Cleanup status under Ecology's 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site traces to underground storage tanks that were in service decades before 1986, with at least one tank unused since the 1960s — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The cleanup costs the property owner faces — tank and soil removal, product recovery, long-term monitoring, and whatever remediation Ecology ultimately requires — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose CGL policies were in effect when these tanks were actively dispensing fuel and the contamination first occurred.
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.