This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1956. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was developed as a retail gasoline station in 1956, with an automotive repair garage added in 1969. Time Oil Co. purchased the property in 1976 and installed three underground storage tanks with capacities of 4,000, 6,000, and 8,000 gallons; a 12,000-gallon UST was later added to replace the smallest tank. All USTs were removed in 2002, and site investigation confirmed gasoline- and diesel-range petroleum hydrocarbons and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in soil and groundwater. Groundwater treatment by chemical injection was performed in December 2006, and the site has since received a No Further Action determination under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated continuously from 1976 through 2002 — well within the window when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The gasoline station's operational history stretches back to 1956, meaning multiple policy periods across three decades of pre-1986 operations may be accessible. Documented remediation expenditures — UST removals, site investigation, and groundwater treatment — represent cleanup costs that historical carriers who covered the property during those decades may still be obligated to recover.
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.