[Adopted 3-8-1993 by Ord. No. 329; amended
in its entirety 6-22-2010 by Ord. No. 527]
The Manager of the Township of East Norriton 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 East Norriton (hereinafter "the municipality")
where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under
all policies exceeds $7,500 unless the insurance company, association
or exchange is furnished with a certificate pursuant to this article
and unless there is compliance with the procedure set forth in this
article and Act 93 of 1994, 40 P.S. § 638, as may be amended.
Where, pursuant to Act 93 of 1994, 40 P.S. § 638,
as amended, the Municipal Treasurer issues a certificate indicating
that there are no delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user
charges against the subject real property, the insuring agent shall
pay the claim of the named insured; provided, however, that if the
loss as 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 or other structure, 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, this subsection 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 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 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 finds to the named insured.
(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 section 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 Board of Supervisors may by resolution adopt procedures
and regulations to implement Act 93 of 1994 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.
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.