[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Borough of West
View as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-8-1995 by Ord. No. 1358 (Ch. 85, Art. I, of the
1977 Code)]
A.
Compliance with Act 98 of 1992. This article is intended to comply
with the Act of July 9, 1992, P.L. 678, No. 98, Section 1, as amended,
40 P.S. § 638. The provisions herein contained shall be
interpreted so as to comply with the provisions and amendment of said
Act 98 of 1992.
B.
Designated officer. The Borough Manager shall be the designated officer
who is authorized to carry out all responsibilities and duties of
the Borough of West View stated herein.
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 West View 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 § 184-3 of this article and unless in compliance with procedures set forth in this article.
A.
The designated officer 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:
(1)
A certificate 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
certificate, the municipality has not certified any amount as total
costs incurred by the municipality 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 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 of the date of the certificate, the amount of
total costs, if any, certified to the designated officer that have
been incurred by the municipality for the removal, repair or securing
of a building or other structure on the property. The certification
may also specify the payee(s) of amounts owed.
B.
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 municipality under applicable law.
A.
Upon the receipt of a certificate pursuant to § 184-3A(1) 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 § 184-5 of this article.
B.
Upon the receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to § 184-3A(2) of this article, the insuring agent shall return the bill to the designated officer with 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 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.
When the loss 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 other structure, the following
procedures shall be followed:
A.
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the designated officer of the Borough the aggregate of $2,000 for each $15,000 and each fraction of that amount of a claim unless Subsection B herein applies.
B.
If at the time of a loss report the named insured has submitted a
contractor's signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing
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.
C.
The transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis by all insuring
agents insuring the building or other structure.
D.
When transferring proceeds to the Borough, an insuring agent shall
provide the Borough with the name and address of the named insured.
E.
Policy proceeds remaining after the transfer to the Borough shall
be disbursed in accordance with the policy terms.
F.
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 the funds transferred to the Borough in excess of the
estimate to the named insured, if the Borough has not commenced to
remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.
Upon receipt of proceeds under § 184-5, 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 or securing the building or other structure which are incurred
by the Borough. Such costs shall include, without limitation, any
material, labor, engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred
by the Borough in connection with such removal, repair 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 named 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, removal or securing of the building or other structure
have been completed and the required proof received by the designated
officer and if the Borough has not incurred any costs for repairs,
removal or securing, the fund shall be returned to the named insured.
D.
If the Borough has incurred costs for repairs, removal or securing
of the building or other structure, the costs shall be paid from the
fund. If excess funds remain, the Borough shall transfer the remaining
funds to the named insured.
E.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of
the Borough to recover any deficiency.
F.
Furthermore, 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 named insured if some other
reasonable disposition of the damaged property has been negotiated.
The Town Council of the Borough of West View may by resolution
adopt procedures and regulations to implement Act 98 of 1992, as amended,[1] and this article and may by resolution fix reasonable
fees to be charged for Borough activities or services provided pursuant
to Act 98 of 1992, as amended, and this article, including, without
limitation, the issuance of certificates and bills, performance of
inspections and opening separate fund accounts.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638 et seq.
Any owner of property, any named insured, any insuring agent
or any individual acting on behalf of an insuring agent who violates
this article shall be subject to a penalty not exceeding $1,000 per
violation.
