This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was developed as a gasoline service station with an automotive repair shop and car wash in approximately 1968, with five steel underground storage tanks installed in 1969. The original USTs were decommissioned in 1993, and a Remedial Investigation conducted under the Voluntary Cleanup Program confirmed petroleum and lead contamination in groundwater beneath the site. The site has since received a No Further Action determination from 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.
Gasoline service operations at this property began in 1968 — nearly two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination documented in groundwater here — lead, benzene, petroleum-diesel, and petroleum-gasoline — is consistent with releases from those original 1969-era underground storage tanks that served the station through their 1993 decommissioning. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that 24-year operational window may still be obligated to respond to the remediation costs incurred at this site.
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.