This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1976. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
UPS has occupied this Tukwila property since 1976, when the warehouse and customer service center were built. A 10,000-gallon unleaded gasoline underground storage tank was installed on site in 1977 to support operations and remained in service until its removal in 1995. A release was reported in 1990, and subsequent investigation confirmed petroleum hydrocarbons — including benzene, diesel-range, and gasoline-range compounds — in groundwater beneath the property. The site has since received a No Further Action determination under Washington's 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 an underground storage tank installed in 1977 and operated through the heart of the pre-1986 CGL policy era. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued during that 1977–1985 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The cleanup costs incurred to investigate and remediate the gasoline release — from the 1990 notification through tank removal and groundwater assessment — are the type of expenditures those historical carriers may be obligated to cover.
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.