This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property operated as a petroleum service station with underground storage tanks for gasoline, waste oil, and heating oil dating to the late 1960s or early 1970s. Six USTs were removed in 1993 and three more in 1997, with historical releases from those tanks contaminating soil and groundwater across the property. Approximately 11,028 tons of contaminated soil was excavated and removed in 1999 to address those releases. The current building was constructed in 2000 on the site of the pre-existing station, and the property remains in the Standard Cleanup program awaiting further remediation. 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 were installed decades before 1986, and their historical releases produced petroleum and benzene contamination in groundwater that remains far above cleanup levels — benzene at 580 times the state standard and total petroleum hydrocarbons at 250 times the gasoline cleanup level. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the station's operators during those pre-1986 years of operation had no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable in Washington. The substantial remediation costs still ahead — this site is awaiting cleanup — could plausibly be funded by the historical carriers whose policies were in effect when these releases first occurred.
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.