This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1966. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a Texaco/Shell service station with underground storage tanks likely installed no later than the mid-1960s, based on their removal in 1991 and standard tank lifecycle expectations. During the 1991 UST removal, approximately 2,800 cubic yards of hydrocarbon-impacted soil was excavated along with the former tanks, conveyance systems, and dispenser islands. Groundwater contamination was confirmed in 14 of 19 monitoring wells, and soil and groundwater treatment systems were installed and operated between 1992 and 2002. The site completed cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action opinion letter in August 2013. 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 service station were installed and operating decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The petroleum contamination requiring more than a decade of active remediation — soil excavation, groundwater treatment, extended monitoring — traces directly to infrastructure that was in the ground during that pre-1986 policy window. Historical carriers who wrote CGL coverage for the station's operators during the 1960s through mid-1980s may still be obligated to recover the cleanup costs incurred to reach the site's current No Further Action status.
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.