[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Penn: Art. I, 7-19-1993 by Ord. No. 605. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Outdoor burning — See Ch. 75.
[Adopted 7-19-1993
by Ord. No. 605]
The Township 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.
A.
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter
referred to as 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 Penn (hereinafter referred to as 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 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 and the provisions of this article.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b), (c) and (d), respectively.
B.
Where, pursuant to Section 508(b)(1)(i) of Act 98 of
1992,[3] 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 equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire
policies covering the building restructure, the following procedures must
be followed:
(1)
[4]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 agreed to between the
named insured and the insuring agent, the named insured has submitted a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs 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.
(3)
The transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis
by all companies, associations or exchanges insuring the building or other
structure.
(4)
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 in an amount less than the amount calculated under the
foregoing transfer formula, 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.[5]
(5)
Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the municipality
shall do the following:
(a)
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;
(b)
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;
(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 has
been received by the designated officer and if the municipality has not incurred
any costs for repairs, removal or securing, then 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, then the cost shall
be paid from the fund, and if excess funds remain, the municipality shall
transfer the remaining funds to the named insured; and
(d)
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.
(6)
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.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b)(1)(i).
The Board of Commissioners of the Township of Penn may, by resolution,
adopt procedures and regulations to implement Act 98 of 1992[1] and this article and may, by resolution, fix reasonable fees to
be charged for municipal activities of certificates and bills, performance
of inspections and opening separate fund accounts.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. §§ 636.1 and 638.
An 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,
plus costs, and in default of payment to imprisonment not to exceed 30 days.