This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1933. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 contamination at this property originates from bulk petroleum storage and distribution operations that ran continuously from 1933 through 1970 — more than four decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry norm and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The likely presence of lead at the site is consistent with that same pre-1986 operational era, when leaded gasoline was routinely handled at terminals like this one. The remediation costs still ahead — active cleanup of a petroleum-impacted waterfront industrial property — represent the kind of future expenditure that historical carriers whose policies were in force during Time Oil's decades of operation 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.