This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1983. 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 1983 — three years before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims — and the PCE, TCE, DCE, and vinyl chloride contamination documented in soil and groundwater here is the type of slow, subsurface release those pre-1986 policies were written to address. The property's development history extends further still, with structures constructed in 1965, 1975, and 1985, meaning multiple pre-1986 policy periods may be relevant to establishing carrier obligations. The documented remediation expenditures at this site — trench excavation, chemical oxidant injections, ozone system installation, and continuing plume 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.