[HISTORY: Adopted by City Council of the City of Lock Haven
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 59.
[Adopted 6-19-2017 by Ord. No. 973]
The City Manager or such official's designee 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 within City of Lock Haven (hereinafter the "municipality")
where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under
all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the named insured or insuring
agent is furnished by the municipal treasurer with a municipal certificate
pursuant to Section 508(b) of Act 93 of 1994[1] and unless there is compliance with Section 508(c) and
(d) of Act 93 of 1994[2] and the provisions of this article.
Where pursuant to Section 508(b)(1)(i) of Act 98 of 1992,[1] the municipal treasurer 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 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 restructure, the following procedures must be followed:
A.
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to
the designated officer of the City of Lock Haven 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 to be applied such that if the claim
is $15,000 or less, the amount transferred to the municipality shall
be $2,000; or
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 to the municipality from the insurance proceeds
the amount specified in the estimate.
C.
The transfer of proceeds shall be on 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 municipality 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 under this section, the municipality 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 municipality. Such costs shall include, without limitation,
any engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the municipality
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 municipality 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 municipality 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 municipality and the required proof of such completion
received by the designated officer, and if the municipality has not
incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the funds shall
be returned to the named insured. If the municipality 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;
and
(4)
To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds held by the municipality
pursuant to this section, and not returned to the named insured, such
interest shall belong to the municipality. 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.
F.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of
the municipality to recover any deficiency. Furthermore, nothing in
this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the municipality and
the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits the
transfer of funds to the named insured or some other reasonable disposition
of the damaged property has been negotiated.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b)(1)(i).
The City of Lock Haven
may adopt procedures and regulations to implement Act 93 of 1994[1] and this article and may by resolution fix reasonable
fees to be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant
to Act 93 of 1994 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. § 638.
The provisions of this article shall be severable and, if any
of the provisions hereof shall be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining
provisions of this article shall remain in effect.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting with any of
the provisions of this article are hereby repealed insofar as same
affects this article.
The City Manager or his designee shall file an exact copy of
this article with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic
Development together with the name, position, and phone number of
the municipal official responsible for compliance with its provisions.
Any owner of property, any name insured or any insuring agent
who violates this article shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000
per violation.
