This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1939. 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 gasoline service station from approximately 1939 to 1977, with at least seven underground storage tanks and an in-ground hydraulic hoist occupying the south half of the site. A dry cleaning operation also ran in a building on the property during the late 1950s, adding tetrachloroethylene (PCE) to the contamination record alongside petroleum hydrocarbons — ORPH, benzene, and naphthalene — confirmed in soil from the station era. Planned remediation includes mass excavation to 30 feet, removal and decommissioning of the remaining USTs and petroleum-contaminated soil, removal of PCE-contaminated soil, and enrollment in the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 contamination at this property originates from two distinct pre-1986 operations: a gasoline service station active from 1939 through 1977 and a dry cleaning business operating in the late 1950s — both well within the era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The scale of the planned cleanup, mass excavation to 30 feet with separate remediation streams for petroleum hydrocarbons and PCE, signals significant expenditures that are only beginning. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the service station or dry cleaner operators during those decades may be obligated both to fund the coming remediation and to recover the investigation costs already incurred.
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.
