This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. 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.

Both sources of contamination at this property — PCE from the Sudden Service Cleaners dry cleaning operation and petroleum hydrocarbons from the multiple underground storage tanks — originated from pre-1986 activities, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The co-mingled contamination profile here, a dry cleaner's PCE plume alongside petroleum releases from a large number of underground tanks, reflects decades of operations by prior owners and occupants whose historical insurers may still be obligated to respond. With the site classified as Awaiting Cleanup, the remediation expenditures ahead could plausibly be funded by carriers who issued CGL policies to those operators during that pre-1986 window.

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.