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 contamination at this property is attributed to historic tetrachloroethylene usage spanning more than a decade under the most recent operator alone, leaving open the possibility that dry cleaning operations — and the associated PERC releases — extend further back under prior owners or operators. If the site's dry cleaning history reaches back before 1986, occurrence-based CGL policies issued during that window would have carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The multi-year VCP engagement, including the documented investigation costs and the 2016 gap that extended the project timeline, underscores the accumulating remediation expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated 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.