This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1976. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This industrial park was constructed between 1976 and 1978, with tenants including Intermec Corporation — an electronics manufacturer occupying the 4403 Building from 1978 through 1990 — and Jalan Inc., which operated a wood shop with a spray booth beginning in 1979. A 500-gallon single-wall steel heating oil underground storage tank was also present on the property and removed in 1995. Site investigations have confirmed chlorinated volatile organic compounds — PCE, TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and methylene chloride — above cleanup levels in a shallow groundwater plume near the former Intermec building, along with arsenic detections above background in multiple monitoring wells. The site is enrolled in the Voluntary Cleanup Program with cleanup underway. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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.
Industrial operations at this property commenced in the late 1970s, nearly a decade before the 1986 shift to claims-made CGL policies with absolute pollution exclusions. The chlorinated-solvent contamination tied to electronics manufacturing at the Intermec building traces to operations that were fully active during the occurrence-based CGL era. Remediation costs already incurred and still accumulating — groundwater investigation, monitoring-well networks, and cleanup of a multi-compound solvent plume — represent expenditures that historical carriers who wrote policies during that 1978–1986 operational window may be obligated 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.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.