This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as an Exxon service station with three 8,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tanks and one 1,000-gallon waste oil tank in service before the first environmental assessment in April 1988. A petroleum release was reported in July 1988, and the station ceased operations in October 1990; all four USTs were removed in October 1991. The site entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program, with groundwater monitoring confirming the presence of lead, benzene, and petroleum hydrocarbons. The site has since received a No Further Action determination. 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 petroleum release at this station was reported in 1988, but the underground storage tanks had been in service for years prior — potentially since the late 1960s based on their removal-date lifecycle — well before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented groundwater contamination, including lead, benzene, and gasoline-range petroleum, traces directly to operations conducted under those pre-1986 policies. Historical carriers who covered the Exxon station during that operational window may still bear obligation for the remediation costs incurred through the Voluntary Cleanup Program.
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
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.