This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1946. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
Two former gasoline service stations operated simultaneously on this Olympia property during the postwar decades — one at the northwest corner from approximately 1946 to 1968 and a second at the northeast corner from approximately 1947 to 1963. Geophysical surveys and historical research have identified a backfilled tank nest consistent with underground storage tanks that were removed from the property, and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination — gasoline, diesel, and oil — has been attributed to those historical operations. A conceptual scope of work with a ballpark cost estimate for cleanup oversight has been submitted, but no active remediation has yet commenced. 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.
Both gasoline stations on this property were actively dispensing fuel decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The petroleum hydrocarbon releases tied to those pre-1986 UST operations are precisely the kind of slow, historically rooted contamination those policies were written to cover. The investigation and cleanup costs now facing this property — from ongoing site work through future remediation — could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force while these stations were operating.
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.
