This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1984. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a retail gasoline station since 1984, with underground storage tanks dispensing fuel on site. During UST equipment upgrading in 1998, gasoline-contaminated soil and water were discovered in the tank basin backfill, triggering cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. Remediation from 1998 through 2005 included in-well air sparging and groundwater treatment that removed 1.1 pounds of VOCs, followed by a major 2005 excavation that removed three USTs, ancillary piping, 679 tons of contaminated soil, and 5,989 gallons of contaminated water. The site has received 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.
Gasoline dispensing operations at this property began in 1984 — two years before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. Lead detected in groundwater samples at the site is consistent with the use of leaded gasoline during that pre-1986 window, tying the contamination directly to the era when CGL policies were in force. Seven years of documented remediation costs — air sparging, groundwater treatment, tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, and multi-year monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who wrote occurrence-based policies covering those 1984–1986 operations may still be obligated to fund.
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.