[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Aldan:
Art. I, 8-9-1995 by Ord. No. 462. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-9-1995 by Ord. No. 462]
The Borough Building Inspector or his designee(s) are hereby appointed
as the designated officer who is authorized to carry out all responsibilities
and duties stated herein, other than the responsibilities and duties specifically
assigned to the Borough Treasurer.
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 the Borough of Aldan (hereinafter the "borough") where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the insuring agent is furnished with a certificate pursuant to § 150-3 of this Article and unless there is compliance with the Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Escrow Law, as amended,[1] and the provisions or procedures of this Article.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 631 et seq.
The Borough Treasurer shall, upon the written request of the named insured
specifying the tax description of the property, name and address of the insuring
agent and the date agreed upon by the insuring agent and the named insured
as the date of the receipt of a loss report of the claim, furnish the insuring
agent either of the following within 14 working days of the request:
A.
A certificate or, at the discretion of the borough, a
verbal notification, which shall be confirmed in writing by the insuring agent,
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 Borough Treasurer's certificate or verbal notification,
neither the borough nor any other governmental entity has certified any amount
as total costs incurred by the borough or other governmental entity for the
removal, repair, cleansing or securing of a building or other structure on
the property; or
B.
A certificate and 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 certificate and also showing, as the date of the Borough Treasurer's
certificate, the amount of the total costs, if any, certified to the Borough
Treasurer that have been incurred by the borough or other governmental entity
for the removal, repair, cleansing or securing of a building or other structure
on the property. The certification may also specify the payee(s) of amounts
owed, including, without limitation, the Borough Treasurer, Tax Claim Bureau
or borough. For the purpose of this subsection, the borough shall certify
to the Borough Treasurer the total amount, if any, of such costs, as well
as the amount of any delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges
not otherwise available to the Borough Treasurer. 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 borough under applicable
law.
A.
Upon the receipt of a certificate pursuant to § 150-3A of this Article, the insuring agent 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 insuring agent 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 insuring agent, the insured property owner and the Borough shall follow the procedures set forth in § 150-5 of this Article.
B.
Upon the receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to § 150-3B of this Article, the insuring agent shall return the bill to the Borough Treasurer and transfer to the Borough Treasurer an amount from the insurance proceeds necessary to pay the taxes, assessments, penalties, charges and costs as shown on the bill, made payable as designated by the Borough Treasurer in the certificate and bill. The borough shall receive the amount and apply or credit it to payment of the items shown in the bill.
A.
When the loss agreed upon by the name insured and the
insuring agent equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability
on all fire policies covering the building or other structure, the following
procedures shall be followed:
(1)
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the designated officer of the borough in the aggregate $2,000 for each $15,000 and each fraction of that amount of a claim unless Subsection B herein applies.
(2)
If at the time of a loss report the named insured has
submitted a contractor's signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing,
cleansing or securing the building or other structure in an amount less than
the amount calculated under the foregoing transfer formula, the insuring agent
shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the designated officer the amount
specified in the estimate.
(3)
The transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis
by all insuring agents insuring the building or other structure.
(4)
When transferring proceeds to the borough, an insuring
agent shall provide the borough with the name and address of the named insured.
(5)
Policy proceeds remaining after the transfer to the borough
shall be disbursed in accordance with the policy terms.
(6)
After the transfer, the named insured may submit a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing, cleansing or securing
the building or other structure, and the designated officer shall return the
amount of the funds transferred to the borough in excess of the estimate to
the named insured, if the borough has not commenced to remove, repair, cleanse
or secure the building or other structure.
B.
This section applies only to fire losses that occur after
the effective date of this Article.
Upon receipt of proceeds under § 150-5, the borough shall do the following:
A.
The designated officer shall place the proceeds in a
separate fund to be used solely as security against the total cost of removing,
repairing, cleansing or securing the building or other structure which are
incurred by the borough. Such cost shall include, without limitation, any
material, labor, engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the
borough in connection with such removal, repair, cleanse or securing of the
building or any proceedings related thereto.
B.
Upon receipt of the funds to be escrowed and the name
and address of the named insured, the borough shall contact the name insured,
certify that the proceeds have been received by the borough and notify the
named insured that the procedures under this section shall be followed.
C.
When repairs, cleansing, removal or securing of the building
or other structure has been completed and the required proof received by the
designated officer, and if the borough has not incurred any costs for repairs,
removal, cleansing or securing, the fund shall be returned to the named insured.
D.
If the borough has incurred costs for repairs, cleansing, removal or securing of the building or other structure, the costs shall be paid from the fund. Such costs shall include, without limitation, any and all engineering, legal or administration costs incurred by the borough in connection with such removal, cleansing, repair or security of the building or property or any proceedings related thereto, including the enforcement proceedings set forth in § 150-8 of this Article. If excess funds remain, the borough shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured.
E.
Nothing in this Article shall be construed to limit the
ability of the borough to recover any deficiency or municipal claims.
F.
Nothing in this Article shall be construed to prohibit
the borough and the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits
the transfer of funds to the name insured if some other reasonable disposition
of the damaged property has been negotiated.
G.
To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds held
by the borough pursuant to this section and not returned to the named insured,
such interest shall belong to the borough. To the extent that proceeds are
returned to the named insured, interest earned on such proceeds shall be distributed
to the named insured at the time that the proceeds are returned.
The Aldan Borough Council may, by resolution, adopt procedures and regulations
to implement the Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Escrow Law, Act 98 of 1992, as
amended,[1] and this Article and may, by resolution, fix reasonable fees to
be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant to Act 98
of 1992, as amended, and this Article, including but not limited to issuance
of certificates and bills, performance of inspections and opening separate
fund accounts.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 631 et seq.
Any property owner, agent, manager, named insured or any insuring agent
who violates any portion of this Article shall, upon conviction, be guilty
of a summary offense punishable by fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or a term
of incarceration not to exceed 30 days, in addition to all court costs, expenses
and attorney's fees incurred by the borough. Each day that a violation
of this Article continues shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the
provisions of this Article, if violated by any property owner, agent, manager,
named insured or any insuring agent, may be specifically enforced through
equitable or legal actions.
