Borough of Collingdale, PA Chapter 296 Insurance

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Collingdale as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Fire Insurance Claims

[Adopted 6-7-1993 by Ord. No. 591A; amended in its entirety 6-1-1998 by Ord. No. 619 (Ch. 7, Part 3, of the 1987 Code of Ordinances)]

§ 296-1 Designated officer.

The Borough of Collingdale Borough Manager, or designated Borough officer, is hereby designated to perform all duties assigned by Section 508 of the Insurance Company Law of 1921, 40 P.S. § 638, as amended, in connection with the issuance of fire loss certifications and collection of funds paid by insurers in settlement of outstanding municipal taxes and claims against fire-damaged buildings or structures located within the Borough of Collingdale; for the collection of funds paid by insurers as security against the total cost incurred by the Borough for the removing, repairing or securing of fire-damaged buildings and structures located within the Borough of Collingdale; for the establishment and administration of a separate account for deposit of such security funds; and for the distribution of such security funds.

§ 296-2 Municipal certificate required prior to payment of fire loss claims.

A. No insurance company, association or exchange doing business in this commonwealth shall pay a claim of a named insured for fire damage to a structure located within the Borough of Collingdale where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under all policies exceeds $7,500 unless the insurance company, association or exchange is furnished with a certificate pursuant to Subsection B of this section and unless there is compliance with the procedures set forth in Subsections C and D of this section. The Borough of Collingdale Borough Manager, or the designated Borough officer, is hereby authorized to certify the amount of delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges that are outstanding against a building or other structure located in the Borough of Collingdale where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under all insurance policies exceed $7,500, and to receive such funds from insurers in payment for such delinquent taxes and municipal claims in accordance with the procedure established by Subsection B.

B. The Borough Manager, or the designated Borough officer, shall, upon the written request of the named insured, specifying the tax description of the property, the 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 the 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 Borough Manager or designated Borough officer, a verbal notification which shall be confirmed, in writing, by the insurer 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 Manager's certificate or verbal notification, no Borough representative has certified any amount as total costs incurred by the Borough of Collingdale for the removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the property.

(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 Borough Manager's certificate, the amount of the total costs, if any, certified by the Borough of Collingdale as having been incurred by the Borough of Collingdale for the removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the property.

C. Upon the receipt of a certificate pursuant to this article, 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 municipality shall follow the procedures set forth in Subsections E and F of this section. Upon receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to Subsection B(2) of this section, the insurance company, association or exchange shall return the bill to the Borough Manager and transfer to the Borough Manager an amount from the insurance proceeds necessary to pay the taxes, assessments, penalties, charges and costs as shown on the bill. The municipality shall receive the amount and apply or credit it to payment of the items shown in the bill.

D. 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 designated officer of the municipality in the aggregate $2,000 for each $15,000 and each fraction of that amount of a claim, or if at the time of a loss report the named insured has submitted a contractor's claim, or 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 insurance company, association or exchange shall transfer from the insurance proceeds the amount specified in the estimate. The transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis by all companies, associations or exchanges insuring the building or other structure. Policy proceeds remaining after the transfer to the municipality 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 designated officer shall return the amount of the fund in excess of the estimate to the named insured if the municipality has not commenced to remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.

E. Upon receipt of proceeds by the Borough of Collingdale as authorized by this section, the Borough's 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 incurred by the municipality. When transferring the funds as required in this article, an insurance company, association or exchange shall provide the municipality with the name and address of the named insured, whereupon the municipality shall contact the named insured, certify that the proceeds have been received by the municipality 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 designated officer if the municipality has not incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing. If the Borough of Collingdale 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 municipality shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of this article to recover any deficiency. Further, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit this article 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 damage property has been negotiated.

F. Proof of payment by the insurance company, association or exchange of proceeds under a policy in accordance with this article is conclusive evidence of the discharge of its obligation to the insured under the policy to the extent of the payment and of compliance by the company, association or exchange with Subsection D of this section.

G. Nothing in this article shall be construed to make an insurance company, association or exchange liable for any amount in excess of proceeds payable under its insurance policy or for any other act performed pursuant to this article or to make a municipality or public official an insured under a policy of insurance or to create an obligation to pay delinquent property taxes or unpaid removal liens or expenses other than as provided in this article.

H. An insurance company, association or exchange making payments of policy proceeds under this section for delinquent taxes or structure removal liens or removal expenses incurred by the Borough of Collingdale shall have full benefit of such payment, including all rights of subrogation and assignment.

I. An exact copy of this article shall be filed with the Department of Community and Economic Development, together with the name, position and phone number of the municipal official responsible for compliance with this section.

J. The term "municipality," as used in this section, shall mean the Borough of Collingdale. The term "Borough Manager," as used in this article, shall mean the appointed Borough Manager or other appropriate municipal officer authorized to administer this article. The term "Treasurer," as used in this article, shall mean an elected treasurer or other appropriate municipal officer authorized to collect real estate taxes.

K. This section shall be liberally construed to accomplish its purpose to deter the commission of arson and related crimes, to discourage the abandonment of property, and to prevent urban blight and deterioration.

§ 296-3 Adoption of procedures and regulations.

The Collingdale Borough Council may, by resolution, adopt procedures and regulations to implement this article and Act 98 of July 9, 1992, P.L. 678, No. 98,[1] and any amendments thereto, and may by resolution fix reasonable fees to be charged for Borough activities or services provided pursuant to Act 98 of July 9, 1992, and any amendment thereto, 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. § 638 et seq.

§ 296-4 Violations and penalties.

Any owner of property, any named insured or any insurer who violates this article shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation and costs of prosecution.