This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as Puget Sound Truck Lines, a commercial trucking facility identified on a 1978 topographic map as Puget Sound Freight Lines, with underground storage tanks for fuel oil and waste oil on site. A 1989 Phase II Environmental Site Assessment confirmed that both USTs had already been removed and documented petroleum contamination in the tank cavities and groundwater — monitoring wells recorded benzene concentrations as high as 650 µg/L, along with elevated levels of ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes. The site is enrolled in Washington's Standard Cleanup program, and remediation work is ongoing. 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 trucking facility were installed and operated well before 1986, serving a commercial fleet operation that required on-site fuel and waste oil storage for its vehicles. Petroleum releases from those tanks contaminated groundwater with BTEX compounds at concentrations far exceeding cleanup standards — contamination that originated during the window when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The ongoing cleanup costs at this site represent expenditures that historical carriers who insured the trucking operation during that pre-1986 period may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund going forward.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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.