§ 36-8-12-6 — Units required to insure members of department; liability for failure to insure

(a) Each unit that has a volunteer fire
department shall procure insurance in the name of and for the benefit
of each member of the department. However, if a contract or agreement
exists between a unit and a volunteer fire department, the contract or
agreement must provide for insurance of the volunteer firefighters and
emergency medical services personnel in the department in the
amounts and with the coverages required by this chapter. Unless the
contract or agreement stipulates otherwise, all insurance coverage must
be under a group plan, rather than in the name of each individual
firefighter and member of the emergency medical services personnel.
Either the unit or the volunteer fire department, according to the
contractor agreement, may undertake procurement of required
insurance, but in either case, the costs of coverage must be borne by the
unit. If a volunteer fire department serves more than one (1) unit under
a contract or agreement, each unit that the department serves shall pay
the amount for the insurance coverage determined under the following
formula:
STEP ONE: For each census block or other area in a unit that is
served by more than one (1) volunteer fire department, divide the
population of the area by the number of volunteer fire
departments serving the area, and round the quotient to the
nearest one thousandth (.001).
STEP TWO: Add the quotients determined under STEP ONE for
the unit.
STEP THREE: Determine the sum of the STEP TWO amounts for
all of the units served by the same volunteer fire department.
STEP FOUR: Divide the STEP TWO amount for a unit by the
STEP THREE amount and round the quotient to the nearest one
thousandth (.001).
STEP FIVE: Multiply the costs of the insurance coverage for the
volunteer fire department by the quotient determined under STEP
FOUR, rounded to the nearest dollar.
(b) A diminution of insurance benefits may not occur under this
section because of a change in the insurance carrier or a change as to
who actually procures the required insurance.
(c) Each unit that has a volunteer fire department may procure an
insurance policy for the benefit of auxiliary groups whose members
could be injured while assisting the volunteer firefighters and
emergency medical services personnel in the performance of their
duties.
(d) Each unit that has a volunteer fire department may procure an
insurance policy or any other type of instrument that provides
retirement benefits as an incentive to volunteer firefighters and
emergency medical services personnel for continued service.
(e) An insurance policy or other instrument containing any of the
provisions authorized by subsection (d) may not be considered in the
computation of nominal compensation for purposes of this chapter.
(f) A volunteer firefighter or member of the emergency medical
services personnel who becomes covered by an insurance policy or
other instrument containing any of the provisions authorized by
subsection (d) does not thereby become eligible for membership in the
public employees' retirement fund under IC 5-10.3.
(g) If a unit fails to provide the insurance for a volunteer firefighter
or member of the emergency medical services personnel that this
chapter requires it to provide, and a volunteer firefighter or member of
the emergency medical services personnel suffers a loss of the type that
the insurance would have covered, then the unit shall pay to that
volunteer firefighter or member of the emergency medical services
personnel the same amount of money that the insurance would have
paid to the volunteer firefighter or member of the emergency medical
services personnel.
(h) A unit's obligation under this section supersedes any obligation
that another medical insurance carrier has to pay the expenses of the
volunteer firefighter or member of the emergency medical services
personnel.
[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citation:
19-1-40-7.]
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.64. Amended by
P.L.351-1987, SEC.1; P.L.268-1993, SEC.1; P.L.70-1995, SEC.7;
P.L.1-1999, SEC.92; P.L.174-2009, SEC.3; P.L.96-2020,
SEC.9.