This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1967. 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 fueling facility with five underground storage tanks — storing gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and waste oil — and associated dispenser islands. In November 1992 all five USTs were removed, and in February 1993 an additional 562 cubic yards of contaminated soil and the dispenser islands were excavated. Groundwater monitoring wells installed after the tank removals revealed significant contamination, and ongoing monitoring from 1993 through 2008 documented decreasing contaminant concentrations. Cleanup work remains in progress 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 petroleum contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks likely installed in the late 1960s — well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Fifteen years of documented remediation expenditures, including tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, and long-term groundwater monitoring, were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the decades those tanks were in service may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation work that continues today.
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.