This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. 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 with multiple underground storage tanks. A gasoline UST was upgraded with lining and double-wall fuel lines in 1990, and a 10,000-gallon unlined gasoline UST was removed in 1995, with additional UST removal work conducted in 2003. Groundwater contamination with petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH-G) exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels was encountered during these removal events. The site completed cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and 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 underground storage tanks at this former service station — including an unlined 10,000-gallon gasoline tank — were installed using pre-1980s technology, placing their original installation well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Petroleum contamination documented in groundwater across three separate UST removal events from 1990 through 2003 traces directly to those decades of pre-1986 fuel storage operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's original operating years may be obligated to cover the remediation costs incurred to bring this site to closure.
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.