This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1971. 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 fueling facility, with an underground storage system comprising a 10,000-gallon unleaded gasoline tank, a 500-gallon waste oil tank, a dispenser island, and associated piping. Cleanup began in 1996 with removal of the entire UST system and associated soil excavation and backfilling. Remediation continued with multi-year groundwater monitoring from 2001 through 2004, followed by in-situ bioremediation through bio-injection wells and oxygenating mixture injections targeting impacted soil and groundwater from 2005 to 2006. Cleanup work remains ongoing under Washington's Standard Cleanup program. 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 underground storage tanks at this site are estimated to have been installed around 1971 — more than a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still written without effective pollution exclusions. Petroleum contamination from gasoline and waste oil storage was occurring throughout that pre-1986 window, when historical CGL carriers were on the risk. The documented remediation trail — UST removal, soil excavation, years of groundwater monitoring, and bioremediation injections — represents costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
