This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property is part of the Fairhaven Marine Industrial Park in Bellingham, where boat manufacturing and repair operations have been conducted by successive tenants including Uniflight, Murray-Chris Craft, and Olympic Holdings since at least 1965. Contamination originated from leaking underground storage tanks — the first installed in 1965 and a replacement diesel UST installed in 1972 — that supported the industrial operations on site. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program has included removal of two underground storage tanks, excavation of approximately 110 cubic yards of contaminated soil placed in an on-site treatment bed, and pumping of 2,850 gallons of contaminated groundwater for discharge to the sanitary sewer. Cleanup work is ongoing. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site traces to underground storage tanks installed in 1965 and 1972, more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims in 1986. The leaking USTs produced the kind of gradual, below-ground release that those pre-1986 policies were written to address. Documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, soil excavation and treatment, groundwater recovery — represent costs that historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the site's operators during that window may be obligated both to reimburse 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.