This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1944. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property operated as a Texaco-branded gasoline service station from approximately 1944 to 1987, with multiple underground storage tanks dispensing fuel across more than four decades. Preliminary remediation included UST removals in 1985 and 1996, extensive soil excavation and disposal, and pumping of a gasoline-water mixture from the tanks; groundwater monitoring and sampling have been conducted annually since at least 1999, with future monitoring events still scheduled. The site remains in the Standard Cleanup program, and active remediation of the contamination has not yet 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.
The principal cleanup obligation at this property lies ahead: the contaminated soil and groundwater from four decades of Texaco fuel operations will require investigation, design, and active remediation expenditures that have not yet been incurred. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the station's operators during the pre-1986 window — before effective pollution exclusions became standard — are plausibly on the hook for those future remediation costs. The preliminary work already completed, including multiple UST removals, soil excavation, and more than a decade of groundwater monitoring, adds further documented expenditures that historical carriers may also be obligated to address.
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.
