[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
The Director of Finance 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 Horsham Township
(hereinafter the "municipality") where the amount recoverable for the fire
loss to the structure under all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the named
insured or insuring agent is furnished by the Director of Finance with a municipal
certificate pursuant to Section 508(b) of Act 1994-93 of 1994 and unless there is compliance with Section 508(c) and (d) of
Act 1994-93 of 1994 and the provisions of this article.
Where, pursuant to Section 508(b)(1)(i) of Act 1994-93 of 1994, the
Director of Finance 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 60% of the aggregate limits on liability on all fire policies covering
the building or structure the following procedures must be followed:
A. 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.
B. 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
claim, this section to be applied such that if the claim is $20,000 or less,
the amount transferred to the municipality shall be $1,000.
C. The transfer of the proceeds shall be on a 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
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 proceeding 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 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;
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 is
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 fund 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.
F. 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 had been negotiated.
Horsham Township may by resolution adopt procedures and regulations
to implement Act 98 of 1992, as amended by Act 1994-93 of 1994, and this article
and may by resolution fix reasonable fees to be charged for municipal activities
or services provided pursuant to Act 1993-94 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 up to $1,000 per violation.