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 developed as a gasoline station by 1952, with one 2,000-gallon and two 4,000-gallon underground storage tanks and six pump dispensers installed at that time. Over the following decades the site operated under successive tenants — including the Third & Division Shell Gas Station, Divine's Shell Service, and Mac's Auto Clinic — before transitioning to a U-Haul storage lot by 1980. A 2025 site assessment confirmed lead, benzene, gasoline-range organics, diesel-range organics, and oil-range organics in groundwater at concentrations exceeding MTCA Method A and B cleanup levels across multiple monitoring wells. The site is currently awaiting cleanup under the 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.
Gasoline station operations at this property began in 1952 — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to be the industry standard. The underground storage tanks installed that year and operated through successive tenants into the 1980s are the direct source of the petroleum and lead contamination now confirmed in groundwater. The investigation, remediation design, and cleanup costs this property now faces could plausibly be funded by historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during those decades of pre-1986 fueling operations.
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.