This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as the Kohl & Kohl Texaco gas station in Seattle, with twelve underground storage tanks serving retail petroleum sales until at least 2004. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included removal of all twelve USTs, excavation of over 83,000 cubic yards and 1,235 tons of contaminated soil, and groundwater treatment through pumping, air sparging, and dewatering. Additional remediation measures — soil vapor extraction, a soil-cement hydraulic barrier, a sub-slab vapor barrier, and a continuous ventilation system — were installed, with groundwater monitoring conducted from 1999 through 2013. Cleanup work is ongoing. 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 contamination at this site — lead and gasoline-range petroleum hydrocarbons — originated from underground storage tanks that predated 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The sheer scale of remediation already performed here — tens of thousands of cubic yards of soil removed, years of groundwater treatment, engineered vapor and hydraulic barriers — represents substantial expenditures that historical CGL carriers may be obligated to recover, along with the cost of any remediation still ahead.
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.
