§ 32. Group insurance. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of section
thirty of this article, any town may contract for a single policy of
insurance indemnifying (a) all ambulance districts wholly within such
town which are liable for the payment of benefits under this chapter,
(b) all territory within such town outside cities, villages and
ambulance districts which is liable for the payment of benefits under
this chapter, and (c) the town in relation to such ambulance districts,
and outside territory, against liability imposed by this chapter. If a
town has any such liability and contracts for such a single policy, then
and in that event only any such policy, if requested by the board of
trustees of any village wholly within the town, or by the board of
ambulance commissioners of any ambulance district wholly within the
town, shall also indemnify such village or ambulance district against
such liability. The cost of such insurance shall be a town charge and
shall be levied and collected in the same manner as other town charges
only in the territory of such town which is liable for the payment of
benefits under this chapter and which is outside of any village and
ambulance districts not covered by such a policy. Nothing in this
section contained shall impose any additional liability on any town for
any benefit payments in relation to volunteer ambulance workers.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of section thirty of this
article, any group of cities, villages, ambulance districts or town
boards acting for and on behalf of ambulance districts or territories
outside any such municipal corporations or districts which are liable
for the payment of benefits under this chapter, all of which cities,
villages, districts and territories are located in whole or in part
within one county, may elect by resolution of the governing board of
each member of the group to be insured against liability imposed by this
chapter, as a group under a single policy. Such resolutions shall be
filed with the chairman of the board of supervisors. The group shall
file with the chairman of the board of supervisors an agreement, signed
by the officer of the governing body designated by such resolution,
agreeing to the effective date of such policy and to the population of
each such city, village, ambulance district and such territory outside
any such municipal corporation or district, and, if any such ambulance
district lies wholly or partly within two or more towns, the population
of the district within each such town. The population shall be that
which is shown by the latest federal census, or, if not shown by such
census, then as estimated. The estimate used for any village, district
or other area in a town plus the estimated or actual population of all
other villages, districts and areas in such town shall not exceed the
population of such town as shown by the latest federal census. It shall
be the duty of the chairman of the board of supervisors of the county,
upon the filing of such resolutions and agreement, promptly to contract
for insurance indemnifying against the liability imposed by this chapter
in the manner provided in section thirty of this article. Except by
mutual consent of the participating members, a member may withdraw from
such a group only upon the anniversary date of the policy, and then only
upon thirty days' notice of withdrawal by mail to the chairman of the
board of supervisors. The cost of such insurance shall be apportioned by
the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county to each such city,
village, ambulance district and such territory outside such municipal
corporations and districts, in the proportion that the agreed population
bears to the entire population of the group. Refunds, dividends and
discounts in relation to such insurance shall be distributed or credited
according to the same apportionment. Upon notification by the clerk of
the board of supervisors, the chief fiscal officer of each such city,
village or ambulance district shall pay to the county treasurer, from
moneys available or made available, the amount apportioned to such city,
village or district. Upon like notification, the supervisor of each town
in which such ambulance district is located in whole or in part, or in
which such outside territory is located, shall pay to the county
treasurer the amount apportioned for such district, in whole or in part,
or territory, as the case may be, using moneys raised or made available
for the purposes of ambulance service in such district or outside
territory, or if there be no such moneys or insufficient moneys, using
funds of the town available or made available, which funds shall be a
charge upon such district or territory for which the town shall be
reimbursed. The county treasurer shall pay the cost of such insurance
with such moneys, or if any apportioned share has not been paid, the
county treasurer shall advance the amount necessary from moneys of the
general fund upon resolution of the board of supervisors. Any such
advance shall be repaid as soon as moneys are available therefor. If
any apportioned share remains unpaid, the county may recover the same by
action at law. If any member of the group shall fail to pay its
apportioned share within thirty days after notice that such amount has
become due and payable, the chairman of the board of supervisors may
terminate the participation of such member in the group by notice by
mail to such member on a date specified in the notice, and a copy of
such notice shall be filed by the chairman of the board of supervisors
with the insurance carrier, who shall notify the chairman of the
workers' compensation board of the termination of coverage in the same
manner as provided for cancellation of policy under subdivision five of
section fifty-four of the workers' compensation law. If any village or
ambulance district is located in two or more counties, it may elect to
join such a group in one of such counties. If any ambulance district
includes territory in more than one county, it shall become a
participant only if all the town boards acting for and on behalf of such
district shall have elected that such district shall become a
participant in such a group, and in such case such town boards shall
elect as to which county group it shall join. If any participating
ambulance district includes territory in more than one town, whether or
not in more than one county, the amount of cost of insurance, refund,
dividend or discount apportioned to such district shall be apportioned
in the proportion that the population of the district within each such
town bears to the population of the entire district. The figure used for
population in such case shall be the one stated in the agreement. If
the boundaries of any city, village, ambulance district or such outside
territory in the group shall be changed during the effective period of
any such insurance policy, or if there are changes in the membership of
the group, the agreement heretofore mentioned concerning population
shall be appropriately amended by a supplementary agreement to be
executed and filed in the same manner as the original agreement, in
which case the coverage of the policy and the apportionment of the cost
thereof shall be changed accordingly.

3. Each policy issued pursuant to subdivisions one and two of this
section shall identify clearly each city, town, village, or ambulance
district and outside territory covered thereby.