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 — 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.

Dry cleaning operations at this address — using both petroleum-based solvents and PCE — began well before 1986, the year occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. Carriers who issued policies to Accurate Cleaners or Cherry Custom Cleaners during those pre-1986 years accepted the risk of exactly this type of slow solvent release into soil and groundwater. The documented remediation expenditures here — building demolition, pilot studies, EOS treatment, planned excavation, ISCO, and continuing groundwater monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.