This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This residential property held a 1,000-gallon underground storage tank installed in the early- to mid-1970s to store bulk gasoline for personal motor vehicles; the tank reportedly fell out of use at least some time prior to 1987. Rust holes identified in the tank indicate it released petroleum during its operational life. In February 2018, the UST was excavated and removed, accumulated water from the excavation pit was recovered and transported offsite for recycling, the tank was inerted and triple-rinsed, and the excavation was backfilled with clean soil. The site remains listed as Cleanup Started; a consultant has requested a No Further Action determination. 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 gasoline UST at this property was installed in the early-to-mid 1970s and, based on the rust-hole evidence, released petroleum during more than a decade of operation before going out of service prior to 1987 — placing the contamination origin squarely within the coverage window of CGL policies then in force on an occurrence basis. Slow, ongoing seepage from a corroding underground tank is precisely the release pattern those policies addressed, and the decade-plus gap between installation and the 1986 cutoff widens the universe of potentially applicable policy years. The 2018 excavation and recovery costs represent documented remedial expenditures tied to that pre-cutoff release; a consultant-requested NFA determination is pending, and historical carriers may have obligations both to the remediation costs already incurred and to any that remain unresolved.
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
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.
