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 Seattle residential property contained a former underground storage tank used to supply home heating oil, the release from which contaminated surrounding soils. Investigations conducted between October 2002 and April 2004 documented petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations up to 4,400 mg/kg in soil in the vicinity of the former tank. Remedial actions — including tank removal and associated soil excavation — were completed under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and the site received a No Further Action determination in 2004. 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.
Residential heating oil tanks like the one at this property were routinely installed and operated for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and lacked effective pollution exclusions. The petroleum contamination documented here — a slow, subsurface release into soil from a home heating oil UST — is the type of historical, gradual discharge those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. The remediation expenditures incurred for tank removal, soil excavation, and the multi-year investigation may be recoverable from carriers whose policies were in force during the years the tank was in active use.
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.
