This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

PCE releases at this property trace to dry cleaning operations that began seventeen years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry norm and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The presence of TCE, cis-1,2-DCE, and vinyl chloride — classic reductive dechlorination products — confirms a historical release rather than a recent event, directly implicating the policy years when contamination first occurred. With the VCP agreement terminated and no substantive remediation yet accomplished, the full cost of investigation design, source control, and groundwater cleanup remains ahead — expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those pre-1986 operating years 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.