This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property has operated as a garage and service station since at least the 1930s, with single-wall steel underground storage tanks for diesel and unleaded gasoline installed in 1965 and 1972 — totaling 10,000 gallons in capacity — that used suction piping to dispense product to a single island location. The owner recently excavated and removed both tanks using his own machinery, but no soil or groundwater assessment was conducted at the time of removal, leaving the extent of contamination from the site's long history of petroleum storage uncharacterized. The site is enrolled in Standard Cleanup and awaiting formal remediation. 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 underground storage tanks at this property were installed in 1965 and 1972, decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion and remained the industry standard. Single-wall steel tanks dispensing diesel and gasoline across multiple decades of pre-1986 operations — followed by unmonitored removal with no soil or groundwater characterization — present a textbook historical contamination scenario that those policies were written to address. The investigation, assessment, and remediation costs still ahead for this site could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force during the years the tanks were in the ground.
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.
