This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1936. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was developed in 1936 as an automotive service station and operated under various names until approximately 1979, when fuel operations ceased. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the removal of three 2,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tanks and one 300-gallon oil UST, along with excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 100 tons of impacted soil. Confirmation soil and groundwater sampling verified that cleanup standards were met, and 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that served a gasoline service station for over four decades — from 1936 through 1979 — entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — tank decommissioning, soil excavation, landfill disposal, and confirmatory sampling — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that 43-year operational window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup expenditures.
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.
