[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Richland as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-28-1994 by Ord.
No. 239]
The Municipal 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 Township
of Richland, Cambria County, Pennsylvania (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
Treasurer 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[1] and the provisions of this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638.
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 and 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.
Transfer of proceeds.
(1)
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, 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
(2)
If, at the time of a proof of 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.
B.
Policy proceeds remaining after the transfer to the municipality
shall be disbursed in accordance with the policy terms.
C.
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.
D.
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 limitations, 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 fund 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 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 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.
E.
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638.
The municipality may by resolution adopt procedures and regulations
to implement Act 98 of 1922 and amendments thereto 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 amendments thereto and
this article; including but not limited to issuance of certificates and bills,
performance or inspections and opening separate fund accounts.
Any owner or 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.
An exact copy of this article shall be filed with the Department of
Community and Economic Development, with the name, position and phone number
of the municipal official responsible for compliance with this article.
