This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1978. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This Mercer Island residence operated an underground storage tank for heating oil that released petroleum hydrocarbons into the surrounding soil. Independent remedial action — specifically the replacement of the underground storage tank — was conducted under Washington State Ecology's Voluntary Cleanup Program. Following those actions, Ecology determined that the heating oil release no longer posed a threat to human health or the environment and issued 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 heating oil tank at this property was in service from approximately 1978, placing its operational years within the pre-1986 period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination here — a gradual petroleum hydrocarbon release from a residential UST — is precisely the type of slow, undiscovered leak those policies were designed to cover. Historical carriers whose policies were in force during that operational window may remain obligated to fund the remediation costs that were incurred to resolve this release.
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.
