This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1985. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was first developed as a convenience store and gas station in 1985, with three 12,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tanks installed that same year. Remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation and removal of 90 tons of petroleum-impacted soil in 1992, installation and sampling of six groundwater monitoring wells, and groundwater sampling in 1993 and 1994 during UST and piping upgrade activities. The site received a No Further Action opinion from Ecology in April 2017. 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 1985 — the final year before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were replaced industrywide with claims-made forms carrying absolute pollution exclusions. Benzene and petroleum hydrocarbons released from those tanks triggered documented cleanup expenditures spanning soil excavation, groundwater monitoring, and tank system upgrades over more than two decades. CGL policies in force during 1985 operations may still carry obligations to indemnify the property owner for those remediation costs.
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
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.