This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1972. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was undeveloped until 1972, when it was built as a retail gasoline service station with five underground storage tanks — three 8,000-gallon gasoline tanks, a 1,000-gallon heating oil tank, and a 550-gallon waste oil tank. Texaco Refining and Marketing, Inc. operated the site as a Texaco Service Station from 1973 through 1998, with all five USTs decommissioned in 1992. Remedial investigation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program documented metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater, and the site has since 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property traces to underground storage tanks installed in 1972 and operated continuously through the pre-1986 era, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The metals and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination found in groundwater here originated from tank operations that ran for two decades under those policy forms. Remediation costs incurred to reach the site's No Further Action status — investigation, cleanup, and monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1972–1986 window may be obligated to cover.
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.