This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a retail gasoline station from approximately 1964 to 1990, with four underground storage tanks dispensing what is believed to have been leaded gasoline. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the removal of all four USTs and excavation of 545 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil in 1990, followed by an additional 130 tons of soil excavation in 2008. Monitored Natural Attenuation supported by five monitoring wells and quarterly groundwater sampling has been in place since 2006, and the site has received a No Further Action determination. The property currently operates as a convenience store. 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 and lead contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and operated for more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, two rounds of large-scale soil excavation, monitoring well installation, and years of quarterly groundwater sampling — were all incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1964-to-1986 window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup 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.
