This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1957. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property operated as a Unocal gasoline service station (station 4384) from 1957 to 1994, with multiple underground storage tanks — including 4,000-, 5,000-, and 6,000-gallon gasoline USTs — dispensing fuel at this Bellevue location for nearly four decades. Between 1990 and 2009, approximately 1,054 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil and a 1,000-gallon waste oil UST were excavated and removed, and groundwater was monitored from 1993 to 1995 under natural attenuation. Future soil handling costs remain anticipated, and the site's cleanup is not yet complete. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property traces directly to UST operations that began in 1957 — nearly three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The remediation work still ahead, including the anticipated future soil handling costs, represents expenditures that historical carriers who insured the Unocal station during its pre-1986 operating years may be obligated to fund. For a site still awaiting full cleanup, access to those dormant policies could be a meaningful source of cost recovery.
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.
