The city is hereby authorized to utilize the procedure described in Ohio R.C. § 3929.86 (C) and (D) whereby no insurance company doing business in the state shall pay a claim of a named insured for fire damage to a building or other structure located in the city where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the building or other structure, under all policies, exceeds Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), unless there is compliance with the following procedures:
(a) When the loss agreed to between the named insured or insureds and the company or companies equals or exceeds 60 percent of the aggregate limits of liability on all fire policies covering the building or other structure, the insurance company or companies, in accordance with Ohio R.C. § 3929.86, shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to the Director of Finance, in the aggregate, Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) for each Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), and each fraction of that amount, of a claim. If, at the time of a proof of loss agreed to between the named insured or insureds and the insurance company or companies, the named insured or insureds has submitted a contractor’s signed estimate of the cost of removing, repairing or securing the building or other structure, then the insurance company or companies shall transfer from the insurance proceeds the amount specified in the estimate.
(1) Such transfer of proceeds shall be on a pro rata basis by all companies insuring the building or other structure. Policy proceeds remaining after the transfer to the city shall be disbursed in accordance with the policy terms.
(2) The named insured or insureds may submit a contractor’s signed estimate of the cost of removing, repairing, or securing the building or other structure after the transfer, and the Director of Finance shall return the amount of the fund in excess of the estimate to the named insured or insureds, provided that the city has not commenced to remove, repair, or secure the building or other structure.
(b) Upon receipt of proceeds by the city, as authorized by this section, the Director of Finance shall place the proceeds in a separate fund to be used solely as security against the total cost of removing, repairing, or securing the structure incurred by the city, pursuant to Ohio R.C. § 715.261.
(c) When transferring the funds, as required in Subsection (a) hereof, an insurance company shall provide the city with the name and address of the named insured or insureds, whereupon the city shall contact the named insured or insureds, certify that the proceeds have been received by the city and notify the named insured or insureds that the following procedures will be followed:
(1) The fund shall be returned to the named insured or insureds when the repair, removal, or securing of the building or other structure has been completed and the required proof has been received by the Director of Finance, if the city has not incurred any costs for the repair, removal, or securing. However, the fund shall be returned to the named insured or insureds no later than 60 days after the Director of Finance receives the required proof.
(2) If the city has incurred any costs for the repair, removal, or securing of the building or other structure, the costs shall be paid from the fund, and if excess funds remain, the city shall transfer, no later than 60 days after all such costs have been paid, the remaining funds to the named insured or insureds.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the city to recover any deficiency under Ohio R.C. § 715.261 by lien or otherwise.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the city and the named insured or insureds from entering into an agreement that permits the transfer of funds to the named insured or insureds if some other reasonable disposition of the damaged property has been negotiated.
(Ord. 15-O-14, passed 5-4-2015)