This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Fuel dispensing operations at this property began in 1964, when three 10,000-gallon steel underground storage tanks were installed to hold leaded and unleaded gasoline. The property was originally owned by Autotronic Systems Inc. and sold to ARCO in 1984; the original USTs were removed on October 1, 1989 and replaced with four new tanks. A remedial investigation and cleanup action were completed under Washington's Voluntary Cleanup Program, with petroleum-related contamination — including benzene — confirmed in groundwater. The site has 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.
The underground storage tanks that are the source of groundwater contamination at this property were installed in 1964 and operated for twenty-five years before removal, placing the origin of contamination squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability coverage. CGL policies issued to the operators during that 1964-through-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain a viable source of cost recovery. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, site investigation, and cleanup action sufficient to achieve a No Further Action determination — represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated to reimburse.
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.