This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1952. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property was first developed in 1952, with the current building constructed in 1967; building plans from 1972 document a dedicated dispensing room for Standard Brands, equipped with a pump and fuel line connecting to a 10,000-gallon underground storage tank outside the building. The UST — which likely stored diesel or kerosene — was decommissioned in 1986, and petroleum contamination in the form of diesel range organics (DRO) and lube range organics (LRO) has been detected in soil and groundwater near the former tank location. A Remedial Investigation Work Plan spanning 2024 to 2025 is currently underway, with potential future cleanup actions identified including targeted excavation, pump-and-treat, capping with institutional controls, in situ chemical oxidation, and in situ carbon application. 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.
Fuel dispensing at this property was documented as early as 1972 — more than a decade before occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims — and the 10,000-gallon UST operated throughout the pre-1986 window until its decommissioning that year. The contamination here, petroleum hydrocarbons released from a buried fuel tank over years of active dispensing, is precisely the type of gradual subsurface release that pre-1986 policies were written to address. The property owner now faces a multi-phase investigation and a slate of remediation alternatives; historical carriers who issued occurrence-based policies during the operational window before 1986 may be obligated to fund those forthcoming cleanup costs.
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.
