This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. 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.

The PCE contamination at this property originated from historical dry cleaning operations that, by the documents' own characterization, predate 1986 — the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. PCE's slow migration and transformation into vinyl chloride in groundwater is precisely the kind of continuing subsurface release those policies were structured to address. The documented remediation costs incurred to date — soil excavation, chemical injection, monitoring well installation — and the future cleanup phases yet to be funded represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the dry cleaner's operational window 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.