This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property housed a heating oil underground storage tank estimated to have been installed around 1969. The leaking UST was removed in 1994, along with approximately 52 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil and an additional 3.5 feet of excavation beneath the tank cavity. Groundwater exhibiting an oil sheen was recovered during the removal. The site received a No Further Action determination in 2012, closing a cleanup record that spanned nearly two decades. 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 heating oil release at this property originated from an underground storage tank that was in service for roughly 25 years before its removal — with installation predating 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs — tank removal, soil excavation, groundwater recovery, and the extended investigation period through 2012 — are expenditures tied directly to a release that began during the coverage window of those historical policies. Carriers who issued CGL policies while the tank was in operation may still be obligated to fund recovery of those cleanup costs.
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.