Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 114-5-3 - Town Inspections By Fire Rating Organizations And Change In Classification3.1. Inspection results filed with city. -- After a fire rating organization has completed its inspection of any town or city in West Virginia, it shall, as soon as practicable, file with the city officials of such town or city a copy of the inspection result.3.2. Certain inspection results to be filed with Commissioner. -- All fire rating organizations shall file with the Insurance Commissioner, any town or city inspection result which contains information indicating that the town or city should be placed in a rating class higher than its previous classification for fire rating purposes. In addition to this inspection result, the fire rating organizations shall also file with the Commissioner the preceding inspection result for that particular city or town along with a cover letter in which the fire rating organization shall enumerate wherein that particular town or city has become deficient.3.3. Cities' or towns' right to hearing to object to inspection result. -- Any town or city, after receiving its inspection result, shall have the right to request a hearing in order to give said town or city the opportunity to object to the content of the result or manner in which the inspection was conducted. Such request for hearing, if desired, should set forth the objections thereto in writing and be submitted to the Insurance Commissioner within thirty (30) days after said town or city has received its copy of the inspection result. A copy of such request for hearing shall be directed to the fire rating organization in question.3.4. Moratorium of no less than one (1) year before downgrading classification of risk. -- The fire rating organizations shall not place any town or city, any division thereof or risk therein, into a higher fire rate classification until all of the following requirements have been met:a) A period of thirty (30) days, as referred to in Section 3.3 of these rules, has passed and no request for hearing has been made by the town or city or after the hearing referred to in Section 3.3 of these rules, the Commissioner overrules the objections made by the town or city to such inspection result; and b) The fire rating organization has extended to said town or city, any division thereof or risk therein, a period of one (1) year to improve the deficiencies set forth in the inspection result.c) If there is reasonable evidence that no improvement of existing deficiencies will be promptly undertaken, the Commissioner may waive the moratorium and permit retrograded class of protection to apply.3.5. Extension of moratorium if substantial progress toward correcting deficiencies. -- If, at the end of the moratorium period which is set forth in Section 3.4 of this regulation and after reinspection by the fire rating organization, it is found that there has been substantial progress by the town or city, any division thereof or risk therein, in correcting the deficiencies, the fire rating organization shall extend said moratorium for a period of no less than six (6) months from the date of said reinspection result.3.6. Moratorium only applicable to certain risk. -- The requirement of moratorium referred to in Sections 3.4 and 3.5 of this regulation shall only be applicable to dwellings which are classified in the following categories: b) Seasonal dwellings and camp cottages.c) Apartment houses (with twenty (20) apartments or less in a single building).d) Private boarding and rooming houses (not over twenty (20) rooms for lodging nor more than twenty (20) boarders).e) Nurses and sisters' homes.f) Chapter, fraternity and sorority houses.i) Motels, tourist courts and tourist cabins (with twenty (20) units or less in a single building).j) Private garages and private outbuildings used in connection therewith.3.7. Annual report to Commissioner by fire rating organizations. -- All fire rating organizations shall file with the Insurance Commissioner on March 1 of each year a report regarding city or town inspections which shall contain the following information: a) A list of all cities or towns in West Virginia inspected during the preceding year.b) The date of inspection of those cities or towns.c) Whether the report indicated a result that the protection was improved to warrant a better classification, deteriorated to warrant a poorer classification or remained the same as the previous classification. (d) If the moratorium, as set forth in Section 3.4 or 3.5 of these rules, has been extended by the fire rating organizations, a listing of such town and the termination date of such moratorium.