This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
A heating oil underground storage tank was installed at this property in 1964, and the site was developed as a gasoline service station between 1971 and 1972 with the addition of three 8,000-gallon gasoline USTs and a 550-gallon waste oil UST. All five tanks were decommissioned in 1992. A Remedial Investigation confirmed benzene and petroleum-gasoline contamination in groundwater beneath the property, and cleanup was conducted under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, which has since reached 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.
Underground storage tanks at this property were installed and operated from 1964 through 1992, spanning more than two decades of the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The benzene and petroleum-gasoline contamination documented in groundwater here is the direct result of releases from those pre-1986 tank operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that 1964-to-1986 window may still be obligated to cover the remediation costs incurred to bring this site to No Further Action.
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.