This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property at 1309 Raymond Street in Bellingham contained a former underground storage tank whose release of gasoline-range hydrocarbons contaminated the surrounding soil. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program required two rounds of soil excavation — an initial phase and a secondary phase — to address the affected material. The site received a No Further Action determination upon successful completion of remediation. 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.
The gasoline-range hydrocarbons at the Shinn Property originated from a single, mapped former UST location — not a diffuse release of uncertain origin — and that specificity is an asset in any insurance recovery effort. The site's Voluntary Cleanup Program record documents what the contamination was, where it came from, and what two rounds of soil excavation cost to resolve. Historical carriers who issued occurrence-based CGL policies to the operators of that UST before 1986 may be obligated to fund the excavation expenditures now captured in that closed Ecology file.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
