This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

PCE contamination at this site traces directly to dry cleaning operations that began in 1968 — eighteen years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures here — machine decommissioning, septic abandonment, vapor-intrusion controls, and years of continuing cleanup work — are costs tied to that pre-1986 operational window. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the dry cleaning operator from 1968 onward may be obligated both to recover those past expenditures and to fund the remediation that remains.

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.