This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1984. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property currently operates as an active gas station and convenience store, with two fuel pump islands and three underground storage tanks — two at 10,000 gallons and one at 8,000 gallons, all holding unleaded fuel. The convenience store building was constructed in 1984, and groundwater beneath the site was found to contain benzene and toluene at concentrations exceeding cleanup levels. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program involved installation of soil borings and four groundwater monitoring wells, with quarterly monitoring conducted from 2013 through 2014 until four consecutive quarters returned results below cleanup levels, resulting in a No Further Action determination. 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 documented at this site — benzene and toluene from underground storage tanks installed and operated since at least 1984 — originated from fueling operations that were underway before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation work here, including monitoring-well installation and a multi-year groundwater monitoring program, represents expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the station operator during that period may still be obligated to recover those cleanup costs.
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.
