This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Hewlett Packard Bellevue Service Center operated as a commercial and industrial facility with underground storage tanks containing petroleum products. A Tank Replacement Program initiated in November 1988 led to the discovery of petroleum hydrocarbon releases into soil and groundwater. Independent remedial actions under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from November 1988 through April 2000, including UST closure, replacement, and excavation of impacted material. Ecology issued a No Further Action determination, confirming the release no longer poses a threat. 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 petroleum contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks that were in operation before the 1988 replacement program — placing their use squarely in the pre-1986 era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Over a decade of remedial action was required to address the hydrocarbon releases those tanks caused, from initial excavation through final closure. Historical CGL carriers who covered the facility during the years those tanks were in service may still be obligated to reimburse the cleanup costs incurred to resolve the contamination.
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.
