[Adopted 12-6-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-5]
The Borough Secretary 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 the Borough of Oakdale (hereinafter the "municipality")
where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under
all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the insuring agent is furnished
by the municipal office with a municipal certificate pursuant to Section
508(B) of Act 98 of 1992 and unless there is compliance with Section 508(C) and
(D) of Act 98 of 1992 and the provisions of this article.
Where pursuant to Section 508(B)(1)(i) of Act 98 of 1992, the municipal office 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 municipality in the aggregate of $2,000
for each $15,000 of a claim and for each fraction of that amount of
a claim; or
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 municipality 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 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 a 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 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; and
(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; and
(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 if some other reasonable disposition
of the damaged property has been negotiated.
The Borough Council may by resolution adopt procedures and regulations
to implement Act 98 of 1992 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 and this article; including but not limited to issuance
of certificates and bills, performances or inspections and opening
separate fund accounts.
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insuring agent
who violates this article shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000
per violation.
The provisions of this article shall be severable, and if any
of the provisions hereof shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable,
the remaining provisions of this article shall remain in effect.