This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1935. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline station from the mid-1930s through the mid-to-late 1940s, with two underground storage tanks holding a combined 16,271 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel serving as the primary contamination source. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of those USTs in 2006, excavation of 357.91 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, and multi-year groundwater monitoring at three permanent wells from October 2018 through March 2020. The site has since achieved No Further Action status. 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 hydrocarbons found in soil and groundwater here trace directly to underground storage tanks installed and operated beginning in the mid-1930s — more than four decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs at this site — UST removal, nearly 360 tons of soil excavation, and years of groundwater monitoring — represent expenditures tied to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operating years may still bear an obligation to recover those cleanup costs.
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.
