This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1980. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property formerly operated as a fuel dispensing facility with underground storage tanks estimated to have been installed around 1980. Gasoline-range and diesel-range petroleum hydrocarbons, along with benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTEX), were identified in soil at the site. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included UST removal and independent remedial actions, culminating in a No Further Action determination and removal of the property from both the Confirmed and Suspected Contaminated Sites List and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank List. 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 contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that were in service years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs — tank removal, site assessment, and independent cleanup actions required to reach a No Further Action standard — arose directly from releases tied to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who wrote CGL policies covering this property during that operational window may still owe indemnity for the cleanup expenditures incurred.
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.
