This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was converted to a commercial fueling station in the 1970s, with underground storage tanks dispensing both leaded and unleaded gasoline. In 1993, two USTs were excavated and removed along with approximately 50 cubic yards of contaminated soil; no groundwater treatment, vapor extraction, or extended monitoring program was required. Ecology subsequently determined that no further action was needed at the site. 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 gasoline contamination at this property traces directly to underground storage tanks installed and operated during the 1970s — more than a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The presence of leaded gasoline in those tanks is itself a definitive pre-1986 operational marker, as leaded fuel was phased out of retail sale in the mid-1980s. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the fueling station operator during that window may retain obligations tied to the 1993 remediation costs — UST removal and soil excavation — incurred to address releases attributable to those pre-1986 operations.
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.