This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This residential property in SeaTac served by an underground storage tank used for heating oil experienced a release of diesel-range hydrocarbons into soil and groundwater. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program involved removal of the residential UST and soil remediation targeting the hydrocarbon contamination. The site has since received a No Further Action determination, closing the regulatory record. 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.
Heating oil USTs installed at residential properties before 1986 fell within the coverage window of occurrence-based insurance policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion — and the removal timeline here points to a tank that was in the ground well before that threshold. The diesel-range hydrocarbon release documented at this property is precisely the type of slow subsurface leak those pre-1986 policies were written to address. The investigation and remediation expenditures incurred under the Voluntary Cleanup Program may constitute a recoverable claim against historical insurers whose policies were in force during the tank's operational years.
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.
