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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a fuel storage site for Star Rentals, Inc., with underground storage tanks that were identified as leaking when a release was reported in June 1998. Gasoline, BTEX, and diesel contamination were found in both soil and groundwater. Independent cleanup activities brought the site to Method A Cleanup levels over the course of approximately fourteen years, culminating in a No Further Action determination from the Department of Ecology. 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 that were installed and operational well before the 1998 release notification — the type of long-duration, gradual release that occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were designed to cover. CGL policies issued before 1986 carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law, and carriers on the risk during the years those tanks were actively leaking may still bear obligation for the remediation costs incurred over the site's fourteen-year cleanup. The No Further Action determination means those costs are now fully quantifiable.
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.