[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
West Whiteland as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Taxation — See Ch. 292.
[Adopted 4-18-1995 by Ord. No. 235
(Ch. 7, Part 2, of the 1983 Code of Ordinances)]
No insurance company, association or exchange doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall pay a claim of a named insured for fire damage to a structure located within West Whiteland Township under the terms of Section 508(a) of the Insurance Company Law of 1921, as amended, 40 P.S. § 638, unless the insurance company, association or exchange is furnished with a certificate pursuant to § 176-2 of this article and unless there is compliance with the procedures set forth in §§ 176-3 and 176-4 of this article.
A.
The Township Treasurer shall, upon the written request
of the named insured specifying the tax description of the property, name
and address of the insurance company, association or exchange and the date
agreed upon by the insurance company, association or exchange and the named
insured as the date of the receipt of a loss report of the claim, furnish
the insurance company, association or exchange either of the following within
14 working days of the request:
(1)
A certificate or, at the discretion of the Township,
a verbal notification which shall be confirmed in writing by the insured to
the effect that, as of the date specified in the request, there are no delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against the property and that,
as of the date of the Treasurer's certificate or verbal notification, the
Township has not certified any amount as total costs incurred by the Township
for the removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the
property; or
(2)
A certificate and bill showing the amount of delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against the property as of the
date specified in the request that have not been paid as of the date of the
certificate and also showing, as of the date of the Treasurer's
certificate, the amount of the total costs, if any, certified to the Treasurer
that have been incurred by the Township for the removal, repair or securing
of a building or other structure on the property. For the purposes of this
subsection, the Township shall certify to the Treasurer the total amount,
if any, of such costs. A tax, assessment, penalty or user charge becomes delinquent
at the time and on the date a lien could otherwise have been filed against
the property by the Township under applicable law.
B.
Receipt of certificate.
(1)
Upon receipt of a certificate pursuant to Subsection A(1) of this section, the insurance company, association or exchange shall pay the claim of the named insured in accordance with the policy terms, unless the loss agreed to between the named insured and the company, association or exchange equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or other structure. In the case of such a loss, the insurance company, association or exchange, the insured property owner and the Township shall follow the procedures set forth in §§ 176-3 and 176-4 of this article.
(2)
Upon the receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to Subsection A(2) of this section, the insurance company, association or exchange shall return the bill to the Treasurer and transfer to the Treasurer an amount from the insurance proceeds necessary to pay the taxes, assessments, penalties, charges and costs shown on the bill. The Township shall receive the amount and apply or credit it to payment of the items shown in the bill.
When the loss agreed to between the named insured and the company, association
or exchange equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on
all fire policies covering the building or other structure, the insurance
company, association or exchange shall transfer from the insurance proceeds
to the Township Treasurer the amounts required by and in accordance with the
procedures set forth in 40 P.S. § 638(c). Policy proceeds remaining
after the transfer to the Township shall be disbursed in accordance with the
policy terms. The named insured may submit a contractor's signed estimate
of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the building or other structure
after the transfer, and the Township Treasurer shall return the amount of
the fund in excess of the estimate to the named insured if the Township has
not commenced to remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.
The Township Treasurer shall carry out the duties of this section.
Upon receipt of the proceeds by the Township as authorized by § 176-3, the Township Treasurer shall place the proceeds in a separate fund to be used solely as security against the total cost of removing, repairing or securing incurred by the Township. When transferring the funds as required in § 176-3, an insurance company, association or exchange shall provide the Township with the name and address of the named insured, whereupon the Township shall contact the named insured, certify that the proceeds have been received by the Township and notify the named insured that the procedures under this subsection shall be followed. The fund shall be returned to the named insured when repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure have been completed and the required proof received by the Township Treasurer if the Township has not incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing. If the Township has incurred costs for repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure, the costs shall be paid from the fund and, if excess funds remain, the Township shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limited the ability of the Township to recover any deficiency. Further, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Township and the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits the transfer of funds to the named insured if some other reasonable disposition of the damaged property has been negotiated.
