The Secretary of the Borough is hereby appointed as the designated officer
who is authorized to carry out all responsibilities and duties 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 with the Borough
of Harveys Lake (hereinafter the "municipality") where the amount recoverable
for the fire loss to the structure under all policies exceeds $5,000 unless
the named insured or insuring agent is furnished by the Secretary of the Borough
with a municipal certificate pursuant to § 508(B) of Act 98 of 1992 and unless there is compliance with § 508(C) and (D)
of Act 98 of 1992 and the provisions of this chapter.
Where, pursuant to § 508(B)(1)(I) of Act 98 of 1992, the Secretary of the Borough issues a certificate indicating that
there are no delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against
real property, the insuring agent shall pay the claim of the named insured;
provided, however, that if 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 restructure, the following procedures
must be followed:
A. The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance
proceeds to the designated officer of the Borough of Harveys Lake in the aggregate
of $1,000 for each $20,000 of a claim and for each fraction of that amount
of a claim, this section to be applied such that if the claim is $20,000 or
less, the amount transferred to the Borough of Harveys Lake shall be $1,000.
B. If at the time of a proof of loss agreed to between the
named insured and the insuring agent, the named insured has submitted a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the building
or other structure, the insuring agent shall transfer to the Borough of Harveys
Lake from the insurance proceeds the amount specified in the estimate.
C. The transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis
by all companies, associations or exchanges insuring the building or other
structure.
D. 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 of Harveys Lake in excess of the estimate
to the named insured, if the Borough of Harveys Lake has not commenced to
remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.
E. Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the Borough
of Harveys Lake shall do the following:
(1) The designated officer shall place the proceeds in the
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
Borough of Harveys Lake. Such costs shall include, without limitation, any
engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the Borough of Harveys
Lake in connection with such removal, repair or securing of the building or
any proceedings related thereto.
(2) It is the obligation of the insuring agent when transferring
the proceeds to provide the Borough of Harveys Lake 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 Borough of Harveys
Lake and notify the named insured that the procedures under this subsection
shall be followed.
(3) When repairs, removal or securing of the building or
other structure have been completed in accordance with all applicable regulations
and orders of the Borough of Harveys Lake and the required proof of such completion
received by the designated officer, and if the Borough of Harveys Lake has
not incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the fund shall be
returned to the named insured. If the Borough of Harveys Lake 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 Borough
of Harveys Lake shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured.
F. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
ability of the Borough of Harveys Lake to recover any deficiency. Furthermore,
nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the Borough of Harveys
Lake and the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits the
transfer of funds to the named insured of some other reasonable disposition
of the damaged property has been negotiated.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Harveys Lake may by resolution
adopt procedures and regulations to implement Act 98 of 1992 and this chapter and may by resolution fix reasonable fees to
be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant to Act 98
of 1992 and this chapter; 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 chapter shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation.