This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1958. 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.

The PCE contamination here originated from dry cleaning machine leaks that began decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were effectively replaced by forms with enforceable pollution exclusions. The gradual, recurring nature of those leaks — the contamination mechanism the documents describe — is precisely what pre-1986 CGL policies were written to cover, with no pollution exclusion to block the claim. The site's documented remediation costs, spanning machine excavation, multi-year vapor extraction, chemical reduction treatments, and ongoing groundwater monitoring, represent protracted cleanup expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those decades of operation 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.