This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a retail gasoline station since at least 1969, passing through multiple operators including Mobil Oil Corporation, Sohio Oil Company, Chevron USA, Southland Corporation, and BP Oil Company. A soil gas survey was conducted in 1989, and five 12,000-gallon steel underground storage tanks were removed in October 1991. Benzene and petroleum-gasoline hydrocarbons were identified in groundwater, and remedial investigation was completed under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, with the site ultimately receiving 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.
Gasoline storage and dispensing operations at this property began at least 17 years before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The benzene and petroleum contamination detected in groundwater originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and operated during that pre-1986 window. Investigation, UST removal, and remediation costs incurred at this site are the type of expenditures that historical CGL carriers — those who insured the station's operators from 1969 onward — may still 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.