[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Colts Neck: Art. I, 4-9-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-9-1997]
A. 
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 17:36-8, et seq., no insurance company authorized to issue fire insurance policies in the State of New Jersey shall pay any claims in excess of $2,500 on any real property located within the township chartered Colts Neck, Monmouth County, State of New Jersey, unless or until:
(1) 
The insured person submits an official certificate, on a form prescribed and certified by the township, that all anticipated demolition costs and all taxes and assessments and all other municipal liens or charges due and payable against said property have been paid; or
(2) 
The township submits to the insurance company a certified copy of a resolution, adopted pursuant to § 142-6 of this article, demonstrating the existence of an agreement between the township and the owners of the fire-damaged property for the payment of all such charges in installments.
B. 
All search fees incurred under these provisions shall be paid by the insured.
C. 
Any request, pursuant to this article, for an official certificate of search shall specify that the search concerns fire-damaged property.
If demolition of a fire-damaged property has not yet occurred as of the date of receipt by the township of a request for execution of an official certificate required by this article, the insured shall provide on that certificate an estimate of the anticipated costs of demolition. The insurer, on notice to the insured, shall pay the anticipated costs of demolition. The insurer, on notice to the insured, shall pay the anticipated costs of demolition to the township which shall hold the funds in an interest-bearing escrow account in a state or federally chartered bank, savings bank or savings-and-loan association in the State of New Jersey.
The provisions of this article shall be applicable to any fire insurance policy issued or renewed after the effective date hereof and after the filing of this article with the New Jersey State Commissioner of Insurance.
With respect to fire-damage claims in excess of $2,500 on any real property located within the township, the insurance company to whom such claim is submitted is hereby authorized and required, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17:36-8 et seq., to pay to the township the amount of all anticipated demolition costs and to pay, in addition, the amount of the liens appearing on the official certificate and such other recorded liens or related charges as may be certified to the insurance company.
If any appeal is taken on the amount of any lien or charge, other than an appeal on the assessed valuate of real property pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:3-21, the insurance company shall issue a draft payable to the court of record, to be held by the court in an interest-bearing escrow account in a state or federally chartered bank, savings bank or savings-and-loan association in the state, in an amount totaling 75% of the full amount of the lien or charge being contested but not to exceed the proceeds payable under its insurance policy; and the insurance company shall issue a draft payable to the township for the remaining 25% of the lien or charge being contested, with the full amount paid by the insurance company to the court and to the township, not to exceed the proceeds payable under its insurance policy, pending termination of all proceedings, at which time such moneys and all interest accruing thereon, at a rate paid on interest-bearing accounts in state or federally chartered banks, savings banks or savings-and-loan associations in the State of New Jersey, shall be disbursed in accordance with the final order or judgment of the court.
In the event that an agreement is entered into between the township and the owner of a fire-damaged property for the payment of the anticipated demolition costs, taxes and assessments or all other municipal liens or charges due and payable, by installment payments pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-19 et seq., the involved insurance company, on receipt from the township of a certified copy of a resolution of agreement to said effect, may make full payment on the claim to its insured. No such agreement for the payment of municipal charges, including anticipated costs of demolition, shall be made, however, unless the Township Committee is satisfied that the proceeds from the claim for the fire damages are to be used to restore or to improve the fire-damaged property on an immediate basis.