This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1950. 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 dry cleaning operations that began in the early 1950s — more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination is explicitly characterized as the product of historical releases during those ongoing operations, not a discrete post-1986 event. The documented remediation trail here — decades of soil excavation, vapor extraction, and active in-situ treatment — represents expenditures historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund as injections and monitoring continue.

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.