This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This residential property was the site of a 300-gallon underground heating oil tank found to have significant corrosion and multiple holes in its shell when Seattle Tank Services removed it in 2009. Cleanup included pumping 8 gallons of wastewater from the tank, excavating and disposing of 8.05 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, installing a biotreatment manifold, and applying one round of biological treatment. Soil contamination was confirmed and groundwater contamination was suspected as of 2017, with the site remaining under the Standard 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.
A tank removed in 2009 with documented corrosion holes and an estimated installation date of 1984 or earlier was in the ground and leaking throughout the period when occurrence-based CGL policies covered this type of gradual, ongoing petroleum release. The slow contamination of soil and groundwater from that corroding tank is precisely the mechanism those pre-1986 policies were written to address. Documented cleanup expenditures — tank decommissioning, soil excavation, biotreatment, and long-term monitoring — may be recoverable from historical carriers whose policies were in force during the tank's operational years.
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.
