This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1924. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property hosted petroleum operations spanning nearly four decades, beginning with a gasoline service station on the northern portion of the site from at least 1924 through approximately 1958, with an underground gasoline storage tank documented on historical Sanborn maps. The Olympic Garage and Paulsen Martin Auto Repair operated on the southern portion from at least 1941 until 1961. Two underground storage tanks containing gasoline and diesel were closed in place in 1997, and two additional USTs were removed in 2001. Remediation was conducted under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and the site has achieved No Further Action status. 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.
Petroleum operations at this site began as early as 1924 — more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Groundwater investigations have documented plumes of benzene, petroleum hydrocarbons, and non-halogenated solvents across multiple investigation areas, all tied to decades of gasoline storage and automotive operations predating 1986. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that extended operational window may still be obligated to recover the remediation costs incurred to close, remove, and address contamination from those underground storage tanks.
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.