This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1953. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from 1953 to 1985, with more than three decades of petroleum-related activity before operations ceased. Subsequent investigation has identified petroleum hydrocarbons, gasoline-related VOCs, naphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in soil gas at the property. The site is currently designated as Awaiting Cleanup; soil vapor sampling has been completed to evaluate contamination extent and vapor intrusion potential, but no active remediation has 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.
Gas station operations at this property ran continuously from 1953 through 1985 — the full span of those operations preceded the 1986 threshold after which occurrence-based CGL policies began carrying effective pollution exclusions. The petroleum hydrocarbons and PCE now documented in soil vapor are the kinds of slow, subsurface releases that pre-1986 policies were written to address. As this site advances toward active remediation, the investigation and cleanup costs ahead could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose policies were in force during those decades of active gas station operations.
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.
