This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated with three 1,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tanks and one 1,200-gallon heating oil UST serving the on-site building's various occupants. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from 1993 to 2006 and included excavation and removal of all three gasoline USTs, in-place closure of the heating oil tank, removal of 20 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil, thermal treatment of an additional 62 tons of contaminated soil, and multi-year groundwater monitoring. 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.
The gasoline USTs at this property were installed in approximately the late 1960s and early 1970s — tank removal dates in 1993 and 1998 imply original installations around 1968 and 1973, and the detection of lead in soil and groundwater near the former tank locations confirms leaded-gasoline operations characteristic of that era. CGL policies issued to the property's operators during those specific years of leaded-fuel dispensing would have been occurrence-based, with no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. Over a decade of documented remediation costs — tank removals, soil excavation, thermal treatment, and long-term monitoring — are tied directly to releases from those insured operations.
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.
