This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1962. 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 at this property ran for 25 years — from 1962 through 1987 — placing the entire operational history within the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The scope of remediation required here — soil excavation, in-situ groundwater treatment, vapor-intrusion engineering, and two decades of long-term monitoring — reflects the scale of liability that accumulated from those historical releases. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the Norge facility during its pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to reimburse cleanup costs already incurred and to fund the substantial remediation work that remains.

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.