This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property housed a 1,100-gallon single-wall steel underground heating oil tank that was removed in December 2006 with severe deterioration — multiple small holes and larger one-inch-diameter holes indicating decades of subsurface service. Petroleum products were detected in groundwater beneath the site. The property entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has since received a No Further Action determination from the Washington Department of Ecology. 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 single-wall steel construction and advanced deterioration of the heating oil UST at this property are consistent with installation well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Petroleum contamination in groundwater resulting from decades of tank corrosion represents exactly the kind of long-duration, below-ground release those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. Historical carriers who insured the property during the tank's operational life may be obligated to reimburse the cleanup costs already incurred.
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.