This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1944. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has been in continuous use since at least 1944, when historical records document a service station with gasoline pumps and ten underground storage tanks on site. The facility operated as a public service station through the 1940s and 1950s before transitioning to a trucking fleet fueling operation. Cleanup activities have included the 1990 removal of a 4,000-gallon diesel UST that had been out of service since 1981, excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil, decommissioning of two aboveground storage tanks in 2003, and groundwater monitoring in 1991 and 2003. Cleanup work remains ongoing under the Standard Cleanup program. 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 site traces directly to fueling infrastructure — underground and aboveground storage tanks — installed and operated for more than four decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removal, soil excavation and disposal, AST decommissioning, and multi-year groundwater monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers who covered these operations may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as cleanup continues.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
