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.

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 petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at this property originated from a gasoline station and tire shop that operated at this Seattle address through the 1930s and 1940s, decades before pollution exclusions became standard in CGL policies. Carriers who underwrote those fuel-handling operations during that window issued occurrence-based policies that attached to the petroleum releases documented here. The multi-source cleanup now facing this property — petroleum plume remediation layered with chlorinated solvent investigation costs — is precisely the kind of long-tail liability those pre-1986 policies were written to cover, and the historical carriers remain potentially obligated to fund it.

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.