This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1940. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This waterfront property has been in commercial and industrial use since the early 1900s, with boat moorage operations dating to the 1940s and a marina fueling operation served by seven underground storage tanks. UST removal in 1991 revealed petroleum and lead contamination in subsurface soil and groundwater, triggering a seven-year cleanup program from 1992 through 1999 that included free-product recovery, groundwater pump-and-treat, and subsurface injections. Institutional controls remain in place, and future remediation at the adjacent Portage Bay Park — including an upland soil remedy, groundwater remedy, and long-term monitoring — carries an estimated cost of $1.05 million to $1.65 million. 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 and lead contamination at this site originated from marine-fueling USTs that were installed and operated decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The use of leaded gasoline at the fueling dock is itself a marker of pre-1986 operations, since leaded fuel was largely phased out by that time. Seven years of completed remediation and over a million dollars in projected future cleanup costs represent expenditures that historical CGL carriers who covered the marina's fueling operations may be obligated both to reimburse 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.