This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1955. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a fuel dispensing facility since at least 1958, with underground storage tanks on site dating to approximately 1955. In May 1994, four gasoline USTs and one diesel UST — along with associated product and vent piping and dispenser islands — were removed from the property; three of the gasoline tanks were approximately 39 years old at the time of removal. Two additional diesel tanks had been removed earlier, in 1985. The site subsequently entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property — diesel, gasoline, and other petroleum products detected in groundwater — originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated continuously from the mid-1950s through the mid-1990s. That operational window falls squarely within the era of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies, which in Washington carried no effective pollution exclusion before 1986. The documented remediation expenditures — multiple rounds of tank removals spanning from 1985 through 1994, site investigation, and cleanup to a No Further Action standard — represent costs that historical carriers who covered this facility during those decades may 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.