This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1930. 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 property began in the 1930s — more than five decades before 1986 — and continued through multiple tenants and facility expansions until the facilities were demolished in 1978. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies in force across that extended pre-1986 operational window had no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable against historical carriers. The documented remediation costs here — soil excavation, electrical resistance heating, reductive dechlorination for groundwater, and long-term monitoring — represent expenditures already accruing and continuing forward that pre-1986 carriers may be obligated both to recover and 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.