This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1926. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated continuously as a gasoline station and grocery store since 1926, with three single-wall underground storage tanks installed across three successive decades — in 1952, 1962, and 1975. A Phase II Environmental Site Assessment identified gasoline-related contaminants in the subsurface, attributed to those active USTs and the site's long history of petroleum retail operations. Cleanup work under the Voluntary Cleanup Program is underway, with initial activities focused on investigation-derived waste management: decontamination of drilling equipment and proper disposal of soil cuttings, decontamination water, and drilling mud. 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 driving contamination at this site were installed beginning in 1952 and operated for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. Nearly a century of continuous gasoline station operations at this address means multiple consecutive policy periods are potentially implicated, spanning carriers and policy years that predate the modern pollution exclusion era. With active remediation only recently commenced, the full scope of future expenditures — from remedial design through long-term monitoring — represents costs that historical carriers who issued CGL coverage during those pre-1986 operational years may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
