This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property has been in commercial use since at least 1956, with operations including an auto parts store by 1960, auto body repair under Ed's Auto Rebuild in a detached garage during the late 1970s, and construction-equipment rental businesses — Jartran Truck Rentals, ABC Rentals, and A to Z Rentals — operating through the mid-1980s with likely petroleum-related equipment repair. A limited subsurface investigation has identified TPH-Dx and TPH-Motor Oil contamination in soil attributed to those historical operations. Ecology has issued early notice letters and the site is enrolled in the Voluntary Cleanup Program, but no remediation activities have yet commenced. 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 petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at this property traces to auto repair and equipment-servicing operations that ran from 1960 through the mid-1980s, a span entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. Chronic operational releases of the kind associated with garage work and equipment maintenance are precisely the loss scenario those policies were written to cover. The property now faces the full cost of remedial investigation and cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, expenditures that historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during those decades may be obligated to fund.
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.
