This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1980. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a grocery and gas station with two underground storage tanks — a 2,000-gallon and a 4,000-gallon gasoline UST, along with a fuel dispenser — installed from at least 1980. Cleanup activities under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of both USTs, associated piping, and the dispenser in 2010, followed by remedial excavation in 2011 that extracted 805 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil and 18,050 gallons of pit water. Groundwater monitoring wells remain in place, and as of 2012 further remedial action was determined to be necessary; cleanup 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 underground storage tanks at this site were installed in 1980, placing the contamination's origin squarely within the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and contained no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures here — dual-UST removal, hundreds of tons of soil excavation, tens of thousands of gallons of pit-water recovery, and continuing monitoring obligations — all flow directly from petroleum releases tied to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical CGL carriers who issued policies to this grocery and gas station during that window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the remediation work still underway.
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.
