This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1940. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from 1940 to 1978, first as the Lycan Chevron Service Station and later as Jim's Chevron Station, before the station building was demolished in 1977. Gasoline range organics and benzene have since been detected in soil and groundwater at the site, and the property has been added to Washington's Confirmed or Suspected Contaminated Sites database. The property owner plans to enter the Voluntary Cleanup Program, but no active remediation has yet commenced. 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.
Fuel dispensing operations at this property ran for nearly four decades — from 1940 through 1978 — entirely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The gasoline range organics and benzene now documented in soil and groundwater are the direct product of that pre-1986 operational history, making historical CGL carriers a plausible source of funding for the investigation and remediation costs the property owner is now preparing to incur.
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 & 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.
