[Adopted 12-19-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]
The Treasurer or such official designated (hereinafter, the "municipal
officer") is hereby appointed as the designated officer who is authorized
to carry out all responsibilities and duties of the municipalities stated
herein.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
FIRE LOSS or CLAIM FOR FIRE DAMAGE
Any loss occurring after the effective date of this article and covered
under a policy of fire insurance, including any endorsements or riders to
the policy.
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter the "insurer")
doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall pay a claim of a
named insured for fire damage to a structure located within Dallas Township
(hereinafter the "municipality") where the amount recoverable for the fire
loss to the structure under all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the insurer
is furnished by the municipal officer with a municipal certificate pursuant
to § 508(b) and unless there is compliance with §§ 508(c) and
(d) and the provisions of this article.
After full compliance with the requirements of § 508(b)(1)(i), the insurer shall pay the claim of the named insured; provided,
however, that if the loss agreed upon by the named insured and the insurer
equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies
covering the building structure, the following procedures shall be followed:
A. The insurer shall transfer from the insurance proceeds
to the municipal officer the aggregate of $2,000 for each $15,000 of a claim
for each fraction of that amount of claim, provided that this section is to
be applied so that if the claim is $15,000 or less, the amount transferred
to the municipality shall be $2,000; and that, 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 insurer shall transfer to the municipality from the insurance proceeds
an amount based upon the estimate.
B. The transfer of proceeds shall be on pro-rata basis by
all companies, associates or exchanges insuring the building or other structure.
Policy proceeds remaining after the transfer to the municipality shall be
disbursed in accordance with the policy terms.
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.
Upon receipt of the proceeds under this section, the municipality shall
do the following:
A. The municipal 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 buildings or any proceedings related
thereto.
B. It is the obligation of the insurer 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, 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 has been completed in accordance with all applicable regulations
and orders of the municipality and the required proof of such completion received
by the municipal 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.
D. To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds held
by the municipality pursuant to this section, and retained by it, 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 the proceeds are returned.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the
municipality to recover any deficiency. Furthermore nothing in this article
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 Section 508 and this article and may by resolution fix reasonable fees to
be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant to Section
508 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 insurer who violates
or permits a violation of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary
proceeding brought before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules
of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of
payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues
or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each
section of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate
offense.