Senate Bill No. 593

(By Senators Rowe, Caldwell and Hunter)

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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on Banking and Insurance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact sections nine-a and nine-b, article seventeen, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to firefighting cost reimbursement; and requiring insurance companies to include firefighting cost reimbursement in policies issued to counties or municipalities.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections nine-a and nine-b, article seventeen, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 17. FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE.

 §33-17-9a. Notice of insurance proceeds.
Upon notice of a claim of an insured total loss to a structure located in this state, insurance companies must notify the insured, and the municipality or county in which the structure is located, of any coverage in the insurance policy providing fire fighting cost reimbursement, cleanup, removal of any refuse, debris, remnants or remains of the dwelling and appurtenances and securing the structure. The notification shall be by letter to the insured, mailed within ten days of the notification of the claim, and shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) The terms and limits of coverage designated by the insurance policy for securing, cleanup and removal; and
(b) Any time limitations imposed on the insured for securing, cleanup and removal.
§33-17-9b. Disbursement of insurance proceeds.
No proceeds shall be paid by an insurance company which has issued a policy which provides coverage for fire fighting cost reimbursement, debris removal for cleanup, removal of refuse, debris, remnants or remains of a dwelling or structure upon a claim of total loss unless and until the insurance company receives certification from the county commission of the county or the government of the municipality where the damage occurred, that the fire fighting cost reimbursement amount billed by that governing body has been paid over to the fire fighting companies engaged in providing emergency services at the scene, and that the refuse, debris, remnants or remains of the dwelling or structure have been cleaned up, removed or otherwise disposed of. In the event the insurance company receives, within six months of the date of loss, certification that such cleanup, removal or disposal costs have been incurred by a municipality, county or other governmental entity, rather than the policyholder, such debris removal and cleanup proceeds shall be paid to the municipality, county or other government entity which has incurred such costs.
No insurance company subject to this section which complies with this section may be held liable for any claim that may arise out of the fire fighting cost reimbursement or cleanup, removal or disposal of debris pursuant to this section.
An insurance company subject to this section which complies with this section shall be deemed considered to have fully satisfied all contractual obligations to the policyholder regarding fire fighting cost reimbursement or debris removal.
In no event shall an insurance company be required to pay moneys in excess of policy limits for fire fighting cost reimbursement or debris removal.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require insurance companies to include fire fighting cost reimbursement in policies issued to counties or municipalities.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.