This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a Chevron service station at 13201 1st Avenue South in the Burien district of Seattle. The site was listed in the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) database, and independent remedial actions were conducted between 1992 and 1994, including extensive groundwater monitoring, comprehensive site assessments, and remediation status reporting. Following completion of cleanup activities, a No Further Action determination was issued. 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 releases from underground storage tanks at this former service station represent the type of gradual, subsurface contamination that occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued before 1986 were structured to cover. The multi-year remediation effort — groundwater monitoring, site assessments, and independent remedial actions spanning 1992 through 1994 — generated documented cleanup expenditures tied to operations that predate the modern pollution exclusion. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's active years may still bear obligation for those costs.
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.
