[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Cheltenham 2-21-1995 as Ord. No. 1822-95.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire prevention — See Ch. 151.
The Director of Fiscal Affairs 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 Township
of Cheltenham (hereinafter the "municipality") where the amount recoverable
for the fire loss to the structure under all policies exceeds seven thousand
five hundred dollars ($7,500.), unless the named insured or insuring agent
is furnished by the Director of Fiscal Affairs with a municipal certificate
pursuant to Section 508 (B) of Act 1994-93 of 1994[1] and unless there is compliance with Section 508 (C) and (D) of
Act 1994-93 of 1994[2] and the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Where pursuant to Section 508 (B)(1)(l) of Act 1994-93
of 1994,[1] the Director of Fiscal Affairs 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 sixty percent (60%) of the aggregate
limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building restructure,
the following procedures must be followed:
(1)
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 cost 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.
(2)
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance
proceeds to the designated officer of the municipality in the aggregate of
two thousand dollars ($2,000.) for each fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.)
of a claim and for each fraction of that amount of claim, this section to
be applied such that if the claim is twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.) or
less:
(3)
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
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.
(4)
Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the municipality
shall do the following:
(a)
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 proceeding related
thereto.
(b)
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.
(c)
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 fund 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 cost shall be paid from the fund,
and if excess funds remain, the municipality shall transfer the remaining
funds to the named insured.
(d)
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b)(1)(i).
B.
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 Township of Cheltenham may by resolution adopt procedures and regulations
to implement Act 98 of 1992 as amended by Act 1994-93 of 1994 [1] and this chapter and may by resolution fix reasonable fees to
be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant to Act 1994-94
of 1994 and this chapter, including but not limited to issuances of certificates
and bills, performance of inspections and opening separate fund accounts.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638.
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insuring agent who violates
this chapter shall be subject to a penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.)
per violation.
