This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1938. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the multi-phase investigation and remediation work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight.
This property hosted a gasoline service station from 1938 to 1955 and an automotive and refrigerator repair shop equipped with a hydraulic lift, with six underground storage tanks removed in 2008. Site investigations have confirmed petroleum compounds, volatile organic chemicals (PVOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), RCRA metals, and lead in soil and groundwater, with historic fill material containing these contaminants found throughout reworked soil and former building basements. Groundwater contamination has migrated into the public right-of-way, prompting Wisconsin DNR to require additional downgradient monitoring wells, and natural attenuation has been proposed as the groundwater remediation strategy under the Environmental Remediation Program. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Wisconsin — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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 contamination at this site traces to fueling operations, automotive and refrigerator repair work, and historic fill placement that began in 1938 and continued through the mid-1950s, decades before the 1986 policy-form transition. The ongoing groundwater monitoring, installation of additional downgradient wells in the public right-of-way, and long-term natural attenuation oversight required under the Wisconsin DNR's Environmental Remediation Program represent future costs that the pre-1986 carriers for the businesses that operated here may be obligated to fund.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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
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.