This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a Circle K gasoline service station from 1968 to 1990, with four gasoline underground storage tanks, a waste oil UST, a heating oil UST, and a pump island on site. Following a tank leak discovered in 1989, cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program has included excavation of over 900 cubic yards of contaminated soil, UST removal, groundwater treatment through product recovery, enhanced fluid recovery, in-situ chemical injection, and bioremediation, as well as soil vapor extraction and long-term groundwater monitoring. 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.
Gasoline-range organics and BTEX contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and operated continuously from 1968 — eighteen years before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures, including large-scale soil excavation, multiple groundwater treatment technologies, vapor extraction, and years of monitoring, represent costs that historical carriers who issued policies during that 1968–1986 window may be obligated to reimburse and to fund through the completion of cleanup.
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.
