This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1935. 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 station and automotive repair facility from the mid-1930s until the late 1980s, with seven underground storage tanks for gasoline and heating oil installed over the course of those decades. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included UST removals in 1988, 1989, 2003, and 2006, excavation and off-site disposal of over 3,290 tons of contaminated soil, and installation of a groundwater remediation system in 2006. Ecology continues to require monitoring at the site, and remediation efforts remain 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 property — TPH-gasoline, TPH-diesel, and BTEX compounds — originated from underground storage tanks that served a fueling operation for roughly five decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures spanning nearly two decades of tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater treatment, and continuing monitoring represent costs that historical carriers who issued policies during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover 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.