ENROLLED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 226

(Senators Dittmar and Craigo, original sponsors)

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[Passed March 3, 1995;

in effect ninety days from passage.]

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A BILL to amend article seventeen, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine-a, relating to the payment of insurance claims for damage to structures and the insurers' responsibilities to their insureds.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seventeen, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 17. FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE.
§33-17-9a. Disbursement 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 of any coverage in the insurance policy providing 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.