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 operated as a Texaco service station with three underground storage tanks — one 8,000-gallon leaded gasoline tank and two 10,000-gallon unleaded gasoline tanks — installed in 1972 and decommissioned in April 1993. Environmental monitoring at the site dates to at least 1991, and a remedial investigation and corrective action plan was completed in 2013 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. Groundwater contamination including benzene and petroleum hydrocarbons was remediated to below cleanup levels, and the site has achieved No Further Action status. 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 from underground storage tanks installed in 1972 — including benzene and gasoline-range hydrocarbons in groundwater — originated from operations that began fourteen years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard. The documented remediation required to bring groundwater below cleanup levels represents expenditures tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 tank operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering this Texaco station during its 1972–1986 operational window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup costs.
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.