This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1956. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a Mobil-branded gasoline service station from June 1956 until April 1976, with two gasoline underground storage tanks of 4,000- and 6,000-gallon capacity and a 300-gallon used oil UST on site during that period. Groundwater investigations identified lead, benzene, and petroleum hydrocarbons — diesel, gasoline, and other petroleum compounds — as contaminants requiring remediation. The site was cleaned up under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and a closure report was completed in May 2020, with the site receiving 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.
Mobil Oil's gasoline station operations at this property ran for twenty years entirely within the pre-1986 window when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies contained no effective pollution exclusion. The petroleum and lead contamination found in groundwater here originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated during that 1956–1976 period. The remediation expenditures incurred to bring this site through the Voluntary Cleanup Program to closure represent costs that historical carriers who wrote CGL policies during those two decades of operations may still be obligated to recover.
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.