This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was historically occupied by a motel served by a heating oil underground storage tank that aerial photographs confirm was present prior to 1968. The abandoned tank was discovered — leaking, heavily corroded — during a subsequent demolition and reconstruction of a McDonald's restaurant on the site. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included tank removal, excavation and off-site disposal of 60.11 tons of diesel-contaminated soil, pumping of contaminated groundwater from the excavation, and one year of quarterly groundwater monitoring through four installed wells. Ecology has granted No Further Action status, closing the cleanup record. 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 heating oil tank at this property was associated with a motel that operated well before 1968 — at least two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still lacked effective pollution exclusions. The tank's significant corrosion and the diesel contamination found in both soil and groundwater are consistent with a long-running release tied directly to that pre-1986 operational period. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, groundwater recovery, and a monitoring program — represent costs potentially recoverable from historical carriers whose policies were in force when the contamination was actively occurring.
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.
