[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Springfield as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-10-2021 by Ord. No. 969[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. I,
Fire Insurance Claims, adopted 5-12-1993 by Ord. No. 793.
The Township Manager or other duly authorized representative
appointed by the Township Board of Commissioners is hereby appointed
as the designated officer who is authorized to carry out all responsibilities
and duties stated herein and in accordance with Section 638 of the
Insurance Department Act of 1921, as amended, 40 P.S. § 638
("Section 638").
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter,
the "insuring agent") doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
shall pay a claim of a named insured for fire damage to a structure
located within Springfield Township where the amount recoverable for
the fire loss to the structure under all policies exceeds $7,500,
unless the insuring agent is furnished by the Township Treasurer with
a municipal certificate pursuant to Section 638(b) and unless there
is compliance with Section 638(c) and (d) and the provisions of this
article. Any request to the Township Treasurer for a municipal certificate
shall be in writing.
A.Â
Pursuant to Section 638(b)(1)(i), upon receipt of a written request
for a municipal certificate specifying the address, tax parcel identification
number, name and address of the insuring agent(s), name and address
of the owner and an administration fee in an amount required by the
currently applicable Township Fee Schedule (as adopted and amended
by resolution of the Township Board of Commissioners), the Township
Treasurer and Township Manager shall issue within 14 days of such
request either:
(1)Â
A municipal certificate or, at the discretion of the Township, a
verbal notification, which shall be confirmed in writing by the insuring
agent, 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 municipal 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)Â
A municipal certificate and itemized bill showing the amount of delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges against the property
as of the date specified in the request that have not been paid as
of the date of the municipal certificate and also showing, as of such
date, the amount of the total costs, if any, certified by the Township
Treasurer and/or Township Manager that have been incurred by the Township
for the removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure
on the property.
B.Â
If the Township issues a municipal certificate in accordance with Subsection A(2), then the insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the Township Manager an amount sufficient to pay all delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges against the property and all expenses the Township has incurred for costs of removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the property prior to making any insurance disbursement to the named insured, subject to the provisions of § 49-6 hereof.
C.Â
If the Township issues a municipal certificate in accordance with Subsection A(1), then the insuring agent shall pay the claim of the named insured; provided, however, that if the loss is agreed upon by the named insured and the insuring agent equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or structure, the following procedures must be followed:
(1)Â
If, at the time of a loss agreed to between the named insured and
the insuring agent, the named insured has submitted a contractor's
signed estimate of the cost of removing, repairing or securing the
building or other structure, the insuring agent shall transfer to
the Township from the insurance proceeds the amount specified in the
estimate.
(2)Â
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to
the designated officer of the Township in the aggregate of $2,000
for each $15,000 of a claim and for each fraction of that amount of
a claim, this section shall be applied such that if the claim is $20,000
or less, the amount transferred to the municipality shall be $1,000.
D.Â
The transfer of proceeds by the insuring agent(s) shall be on pro
rata basis by all companies, associations or exchanges insuring the
building or other structure.
E.Â
After the transfer, the named insured may submit a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the
building or other structure, and the designated officer shall return
the amount of funds transferred to the municipality 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.
Upon receipt of proceeds under § 49-3 (Payment procedures), the municipality shall do the following:
A.Â
The designated officer shall place the proceeds in a separate fund
to be used solely as security against the total costs of removing,
repairing or securing the building or structure which are incurred
by the Township. Such costs shall include, without limitation, any
engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the Township
in connection with such removal, repair or securing of the building
or any proceeding related thereto.
B.Â
It is the obligation of the insuring agent when transferring the
proceeds to provide the Township with the name and address of the
named insured. Upon receipt of the transferred funds and the name
and address of the named insured, the designated officer 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.
C.Â
When repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure
have been completed in accordance with all applicable regulations
and orders of the Township and the required proof of such completion
is received by the designated officer, and if the Township has not
incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the funds shall
be returned to the named insured. If the Township has incurred costs
for repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure,
the cost shall be paid from the fund, and, if excess funds remain,
the Township shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured.
D.Â
To the extent that interest is earned on any proceeds held by the
Township that, pursuant to this section, are not returned to the named
insured, such interest shall belong to the Township. To the extent
that proceeds are returned to the named insured, interest earned on
such returned proceeds shall be distributed to the named insured at
the time that the proceeds are returned.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the ability
of the Township to recover any deficiency. Furthermore, nothing in
this article 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, as determined by the parties, has been negotiated.
An insuring agent making payments of policy proceeds under Section
638 for delinquent taxes or structural removal liens or removal expenses
incurred by the Township shall have full benefit of such payment,
including all rights of subrogation and of assignment.
The Board of Commissioners may by resolution adopt procedures
and regulations to implement Section 638 and this article and may
by resolution fix reasonable fees to be charged for municipal activities
or services provided pursuant to Section 638 and this article, including
but not limited to issuance of certificates and bills, performance
of inspections and opening separate fund accounts.
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insuring agent
who violates this article shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000
per violation.
