This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1940. 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.

Dry cleaning operations at this property began in 1940 — more than four decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. PCE concentrations as high as 3,700 micrograms per liter and TCE at 57 micrograms per liter in groundwater document the scale of contamination attributable to those pre-1986 operations. The documented remediation costs here — UST removals, groundwater treatment, a full RI/FS, a Cleanup Action, and continuing post-cleanup monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's early decades may be obligated both to recover and to 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.