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.

The chlorinated solvent contamination at this property — PCE, TCE, and DCE — is characteristic of dry cleaning operations that predate 1986 by many years; Ecology's own records cite the site's age as a factor in the plume's undefined extent. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies in effect during the dry cleaner's operational years carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain potentially enforceable today. The documented remediation work — soil excavation, on-site treatment, and years of groundwater monitoring — represents expenditures 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.