This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1940. 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 generating PCE contamination at this site began more than four decades before 1986, and site records explicitly document PCE dumping prior to 1985 — placing the contaminating events squarely within the coverage window of occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation effort spans soil excavation, groundwater recirculation, vapor extraction, and ongoing monitoring, representing both substantial past expenditures and continuing costs that historical carriers may be obligated to recover and 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.