This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1981. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Lake Tapps Mini-Market has operated at this location since 1981, when the building was constructed with an original underground storage tank system comprising three steel USTs with capacities of 6,000, 8,000, and 10,000 gallons. Those original tanks were replaced in 1991. Groundwater investigations conducted under the Voluntary Cleanup Program identified benzene, petroleum-gasoline compounds, non-halogenated solvents, and other non-halogenated organics beneath the property. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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 Lake Tapps Mini-Market's original UST system was installed in 1981 — five years before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to be the industry standard. Carriers who issued CGL policies to the facility's operators during that pre-1986 window wrote coverage without an effective pollution exclusion, and the petroleum and solvent contamination found in groundwater here is tied to operations that began under those policies. The remediation expenditures incurred through the Voluntary Cleanup Program to reach the site's No Further Action status represent costs those historical carriers may be obligated to recover.
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.