This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a Shell-branded gas station with service bays, storing waste oil from those operations in two underground storage tanks. In 1989, both waste oil USTs were removed and approximately 40 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil were excavated. The site subsequently achieved MTCA Method A cleanup standards for waste oil in soil and groundwater, and Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in 2012. 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 waste oil USTs at this property were removed in 1989 and, consistent with standard tank service lifecycles, had been in operation well before 1986 — the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination here, petroleum waste oil released from leaking USTs into soil and groundwater, is the direct product of service-bay operations conducted during that pre-1986 window. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removal, soil excavation, and the testing program that secured a 2012 NFA — represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the operational years may be obligated to recover.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
