[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Wilkins: Art. I, 10-28-1996 by Ord. No. 891;
Art. II, 10-28-1996 by Ord. No. 892. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Article I Transfer of Fire Insurance Proceeds to Pay Delinquent Taxes
§ 99-1 Designation of municipal officer.
§ 99-2 Definitions.
§ 99-3 Payment of certain claims limited.
§ 99-4 Responsibility of municipal officer.
§ 99-5 Action of insurer upon receipt of certificate.
§ 99-6 Construal of provisions.
§ 99-7 Transfer of proceeds to municipal officer.
§ 99-8 Additional regulations.
§ 99-9 Violations and penalties.
§ 99-10 Filing of copies.
Article II Transfer of Fire Insurance Proceeds to Secure Removal or Repair
§ 99-11 Designation of municipal officers.
§ 99-12 Definitions.
§ 99-13 Payment of claims limited.
§ 99-14 Procedure for transfer of proceeds.
§ 99-15 Action by municipality upon receipt of proceeds.
§ 99-16 Construal of provisions.
§ 99-17 Additional regulations.
§ 99-18 Violations and penalties.
§ 99-19 Filing of copies.
[Adopted 10-28-1996 by Ord. No. 891]
§ 99-1 Designation of municipal officer.
The Township Manager or such official's designee (hereinafter the
"municipal officer") is hereby appointed as the designated officer who is
authorized to carry out all responsibilities and duties of the municipality
stated herein.
§ 99-2 Definitions.
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.
§ 99-3 Payment of certain claims limited.
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter the "insurance")
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
Wilkins (hereinafter the "municipality") where the amount recoverable for
the fire loss to the structure under all policies exceeds $7,500, unless the
insurer and the named insured comply with the provisions of § 508(b)[1] and the provisions of this Article and Article II.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b).
§ 99-4 Responsibility of municipal officer.
The municipal officer shall, upon the written request of the named insured
specifying the tax description of the property named and address of the insurer
and the date agreed upon by the insurer and the named insured as the date
of the receipt of a loss report of the claim, furnish the insurer either of
the following within 14 working days of the request.
A.
A certificate or, at the discretion of the municipality,
a verbal notification, which shall be confirmed in writing by the insurer,
to the effect that, as of the date specified in the request, there are no
delinquent taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against the property
and that, as of the date of the municipal officer's certificate or verbal
notification, the municipality has not certified any amount as total costs
incurred by the municipality for the removal, repair or securing of a building
or other structure on the property; or
B.
A certificate and bill showing the amount of delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties and user charges against the property as of
the date specified in the request that have not been paid as of the date of
the certificate and also showing, as of the date of the municipal officer's
certificate, the amount of the total costs, if any, certified to the municipal
officer that have been incurred by the municipality for the removal, repair
or securing of a building or other structure on the property. For the purpose
of this subsection, the municipality shall provide to the municipal officer
the total amount, if any, of such costs, if available, or the amount of costs
known to the municipality at the time of the municipal officer's certificate.
A tax, assessment, penalty or user charge becomes delinquent at the time and
on the date a lien could otherwise have been filed against the property by
the municipality under applicable law.
§ 99-5 Action of insurer upon receipt of certificate.
B.
Upon the receipt of a certificate of all bills pursuant to § 99-4B of this article, the insurer shall return the bill to the municipal officer and transfer to the municipal officer an amount from the insurance proceeds necessary to pay the taxes, assessments, penalties, charges and costs as shown on the bill, or the full amount of the insurance proceeds, whichever is the lesser amount. The municipality shall receive the amount and apply or credit it to payment of the items shown in the bill.
§ 99-6 Construal of provisions.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the
municipality to recover any deficiency.
§ 99-7 Transfer of proceeds to municipal officer.
The transfer of proceeds to the municipal officer shall be on a pro
rata basis by all insurers with applicable policies of insurance providing
protection for fire loss.
§ 99-8 Additional regulations.
The Council of the Township of Wilkins may, by ordinance or resolution,
adopt additional procedures and regulations to implement § 508[1] and this article and may, by ordinance, fix reasonable fees to
be charged for municipal activities or services provided pursuant to § 508
and this article including, but not limited to, issuance of certificates and
bills.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638.
§ 99-9 Violations and penalties.
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insurer who violates
this article shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation.
§ 99-10 Filing of copies.
A certified copy of this article shall be filed with the Pennsylvania
Department of Community and Economic Development on or before its effective
date.
[Adopted 10-28-1996 by Ord. No. 892]
§ 99-11 Designation of municipal officers.
The Township Manager or such official's designee (hereinafter,
the "municipal officer,") is hereby appointed as the designated officer who
is authorized to carry out all responsibilities and duties of the municipality
stated herein.
§ 99-12 Definitions.
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.
§ 99-13 Payment of claims limited.
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 Township of
Wilkins (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)[1] and unless there is compliance with § 508(c) and (d) and the provisions of this article and Article I.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 40 P.S. § 638(b).
§ 99-14 Procedure for transfer of proceeds.
A.
After full compliance with the requirements of § 508(b) (i) and Article I, the insurer shall pay the claim of the named insured, provided, however, that if the loss is agreed upon by the named insured and the insurer equals or exceeds 60 percent of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building structure, the following procedures shall be followed:
(1)
The insurer shall transfer from the insurance proceeds
to the municipal officer the aggregate of $2,000 for each $15,000 of a claim
and for each fraction of that amount of a claim, provided that this section
is to be applied such 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
the amount based upon the estimate.
(2)
The transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis
by all companies, associations 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.
B.
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.
§ 99-15 Action by municipality upon receipt of proceeds.
Upon receipt of 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 cost 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 on connection with
such removal, repair or securing of the building or any proceedings related
thereto; and
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, the municipal 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
C.
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 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 funds
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 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 name insured at the time that the proceeds are returned.
§ 99-16 Construal of provisions.
Nothing in this article 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.
§ 99-17 Additional regulations.
The Commissioners of the Township of Wilkins may, by resolution or ordinance,
adopt procedures and regulations to implement § 508 and this article
and may, by ordinance, fix reasonable fees to be charged for municipal activities
or services provided pursuant to § 508 and this article, including
but not limited to, issuance of certificates and bills, performance of inspections
and opening separate fund accounts.
§ 99-18 Violations and penalties.
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insurer who violates
this article shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation.
§ 99-19 Filing of copies.
A certified copy of this article shall be filed with the Pennsylvania
Department of Community and Economic Development on or before its effective
date.