This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1958. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from the late 1950s, with three underground storage tanks — an 8,000-gallon gasoline tank, a 2,500-gallon gasoline tank, and a 2,500-gallon diesel tank — installed in 1961 and remaining in service until decommissioning in February 2022. The site passed through at least four owners before Bissell Distributing acquired it in 1979. A 1991 exploratory investigation identified a petroleum-contaminated groundwater plume extending to the eastern property boundary and likely migrating off-site, with contamination confirmed above MTCA cleanup levels across investigations in 1991, 2016, 2017, and 2020. The site has since achieved No Further Action status under the Voluntary 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.
Fuel storage and dispensing operations at this property began in the late 1950s — more than a quarter century before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions in 1986. The three underground storage tanks installed in 1961 operated continuously through multiple ownership changes, and by 1991 had produced an aged petroleum release and a groundwater plume carrying benzene and petroleum hydrocarbons beyond the property line. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that decades-long pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to recover the investigation and remediation costs incurred to bring this site to its current No Further Action status.
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.