This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as a gasoline service station since at least the mid-1960s, with three 10,000-gallon underground storage tanks storing unleaded gasoline. The USTs were removed at the time of site discovery in 1989, and cleanup activities began in June 1995 as an Independent Action under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, including purging of contaminated groundwater and recovery of free-product NAPL from monitoring wells. The property remains in active commercial use as a gas station, liquor store, and smoke shop, and cleanup work is 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 site originated from underground storage tanks estimated to have been installed around 1964 — more than two decades before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures here — UST removal, groundwater purging, NAPL recovery, and long-term monitoring under the Voluntary Cleanup Program — represent costs tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's early decades of operation may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation work that remains ahead.
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.