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 retail fuel-dispensing gas station under BP Oil Company, with underground storage tanks that released total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) into the soil — placing the site in Washington's LUST (Leaking Underground Storage Tank) database. An independent remedial action was conducted and successfully remediated the TPH-impacted soil; the Department of Ecology subsequently determined that no further action is necessary and authorized the abandonment of existing groundwater monitoring wells. The site has been removed from the LUST database. 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 TPH release here originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated prior to the federal UST regulations that took effect in 1988, and the site's LUST-database history strongly implies the contaminating release predates 1986 — the last year occurrence-based CGL policies were routinely written without effective pollution exclusions. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to BP Oil Company or prior operators during that window may remain obligated for the remediation expenditures incurred to investigate and clear this site. The successful closure of this case does not extinguish the recovery claim against those pre-1986 policies.
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.
