This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1931. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a Texaco gas station from 1931, with underground storage tanks that included two 1,000-gallon gasoline tanks, a 350-gallon stove oil tank, and later two 6,000-gallon gasoline tanks. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included excavation and removal of the USTs and associated fuel lines, removal of contaminated soil, and management and disposal of investigation-derived waste such as soil cuttings and decontamination water. The tanks were formally closed in 1997 and removed in 2008; plans for handling remaining petroleum-impacted soils are documented and cleanup work continues. 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.
Contamination at this site — petroleum hydrocarbons across gasoline, diesel, and oil ranges, along with benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, lead, and ethylene dibromide — reflects nearly a century of fuel storage and dispensing operations, with leaded-gasoline use confirmed by the detection of lead and EDB in soil. Operations at this Texaco station began in 1931 and continued for decades before 1986, the period when occurrence-based CGL policies issued to commercial operators carried no effective pollution exclusion. Historical carriers who insured this property during that long pre-1986 operational window may remain obligated both to recover documented remediation costs and to fund the cleanup work that lies ahead.
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.
