This property has a documented history as a automobile dealership going back to 1971. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was developed in 1971 as a Ford car dealership with automotive service operations, including underground storage tanks, underground hydraulic lifts, and an oil-water separator. A used oil underground storage tank was removed in 1996, and a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment completed in 1999 identified additional subsurface infrastructure from decades of vehicle servicing. The site entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program in October 2001 to address petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in groundwater, and Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in September 2007 following remediation. Subsequent investigations in 2016 and 2024 have characterized residual petroleum hydrocarbons associated with historic operations. 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 — benzene, diesel-range and gasoline-range hydrocarbons, arsenic, and metals — originated from automotive service operations and underground storage infrastructure installed when the facility was built in 1971, fifteen years before the 1986 CGL policy watershed. The documented remediation that earned the 2007 No Further Action determination, along with follow-up investigations addressing residual contamination, represent cleanup expenditures traceable to releases from that pre-1986 operational period. Historical CGL carriers on risk during the 1971-through-1986 window may remain obligated to cover those 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.