This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1974. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Henry Bacon Building property in Seattle formerly operated as a gasoline service station with underground storage tanks used for petroleum fuel storage and dispensing. Independent remedial actions under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included UST closure and decommissioning, addressing petroleum hydrocarbon releases detected in both soil and groundwater. The Department of Ecology subsequently determined that the petroleum contamination no longer poses a threat and issued a No Further Action designation for the site. 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 underground storage tanks at this property were installed and in service well before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies effectively stopped covering pollution claims in Washington. The petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in soil and groundwater originated from those pre-1986 fueling operations — precisely the type of gradual release that occurrence-based CGL policies were written to cover. The documented remediation costs — tank decommissioning, site assessment, and cleanup to Ecology's satisfaction — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued policies during the station's operating years may still 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
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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.
