[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Bridgeport 7-11-1995 by Ord. No. 95-534, approved 7-11-1995. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
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 the Borough of Bridgeport where the
amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under all policies
exceeds $7,500, unless the insurer is furnished by the Borough of
Bridgeport with a certificate pursuant to Section 508(b) of the Insurance
Company Law of 1021, amended by Act 98 of 1992 and Act 93 of 1994
(collectively, the "Act"), and unless there is compliance with the
procedure set forth in Section 508(c) and (d) of the Act.
Where there are delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against the property ("municipal claims") or there are expenses which the Borough of Bridgeport has incurred as costs for the removal, repair or securing of a building or other structure on the property (collectively, "municipal expenses"), the Borough Manager of the Borough of Bridgeport shall immediately render a bill for such work, if he has not already done so. Upon written request of the named insured specifying the tax description of the property, the name and address of the insurer and the date of receipt by the insurer of a loss report of the claim, the Borough Treasurer shall furnish within 14 working days after the request to the insurer, a certificate (or at his discretion an oral notification confirmed in writing) either: (i) stating that there are no unpaid municipal claims or municipal expenses against the property; or (ii) specifying the nature and amount of such claims or expenses, accompanied by a bill for such amounts. Taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges shall be deemed delinquent for this purpose, if a lien could have been filed for such claims under applicable law. Upon receipt of a certificate and bill pursuant to clause (ii) of the preceding sentence, the insurer shall transfer to the Borough Treasurer an amount from the insurance proceeds sufficient to pay such sums prior to making payment to the named insured, subject to the provisions of § 269-3 hereof.
When all municipal claims and municipal expenses have been paid pursuant to § 269-2 of this chapter, or where the Treasurer has issued a certificate described in clause (i) of § 269-2 indicating that there are no municipal claims or municipal expenses against the property, the insurer shall pay the claim of the named insured; provided, however, that if the loss agreed upon by the named insured and insurer equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or structure, the following procedures must be followed:
A.
The insurer shall transfer from the insurance proceeds
to the Treasurer, in the aggregate, $2,000 for each $15,000 of such
claim or fraction thereof.
B.
If at the time a loss report is submitted by the insured,
such insured has submitted to the insurer, with a copy to the Borough
of Bridgeport, a contractor's signed estimate of the cost 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 Treasurer from the insurance proceeds
the amount specified in the estimate. If there is more than one insurer,
the transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro-rata basis by all insurers
insuring the building or other structure.
C.
Upon receipt of the above-described portion of the
insurance proceeds, the Treasurer shall do the following:
(1)
Place the proceeds in a separate fund to be used solely
as security against the total municipal expenses anticipated by the
Borough of Bridgeport to be required in removing, repairing, or securing
the building or structure as required by this chapter. Such costs
shall include, without limitation, any engineering, legal or administrative
costs incurred by the Borough of Bridgeport in connection with such
removal, repair or securing or any proceedings related thereto;
(2)
Mail to the named insured, at the address received
from the insurer, a notice that the proceeds have been received by
the Borough of Bridgeport and that the procedures under this subsection
shall be followed;
(3)
After the transfer, the named insured may submit to
the Borough of Bridgeport a contractor's signed estimate of the costs
of removing, repairing or securing the building or other structure,
in which event the Treasurer shall, if such estimate is deemed by
the Treasurer to be reasonable, return to the insured the amount of
the funds transferred to the Borough of Bridgeport in excess of that
required to pay the municipal expenses, provided the Borough of Bridgeport
has not commenced to remove, repair or secure the building or other
structure, in which case the Borough of Bridgeport will complete the
work;
(4)
Pay to the Borough Manager, for reimbursement to the
Borough of Bridgeport General Fund, the amount of the municipal expenses
paid by the Borough of Bridgeport; and
(5)
Pay the remaining balance in the fund (without interest)
to the named insured upon receipt of a certificate issued by the Code
Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector or other applicable official
of the Borough of Bridgeport that the repair, removal or securing
of the building or other structure has been completed in accordance
with all applicable codes and regulations of the Borough of Bridgeport.
D.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
to limit the ability of the Borough of Bridgeport to recover any deficiency
in the amount of municipal claims or municipal expenses recovered
pursuant to this chapter, or to insurance proceeds, by an action at
law or equity to enforce the codes of the Borough of Bridgeport or
to enter into an agreement with the named insured with regard to such
other disposition of the proceeds as the Borough of Bridgeport may
deem reasonable.
Any owner of property, any named insured or
insurer who violates the provisions of this chapter or who shall fail
to comply with any of the requirements hereof shall be liable, upon
summary conviction, to fines and penalties not exceeding $1,000, which
fines and penalties may be collected by suit or summary proceeding
brought in the name of the Borough of Bridgeport before any Magisterial
District Judge or recovered as debts of the like amount are now by
law recoverable.
