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 housed a historical 1,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tank that released petroleum contamination into both soil and groundwater, with petroleum-contaminated soil and groundwater exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels at the site. The tank was removed in September 2010 and was notably absent a spill bucket around the fill port — a hallmark of installations predating modern underground storage tank regulations. The site has since received a No Further Action determination, indicating cleanup was completed to regulatory satisfaction. 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 gasoline UST responsible for contamination at this Kent property shows physical characteristics of a pre-regulation-era installation, consistent with an operational window that extended well before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued during that period carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain potentially enforceable today. The TPH-g and BTEX releases into soil and groundwater here — the slow, diffuse contamination type those policies were written to address — and the remediation costs incurred to reach No Further Action status represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated to recover.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
