Except as specifically permitted by this code, a certificate of authority shall not be issued to an unincorporated insurer. This section shall not be applicable to an unincorporated insurer now holding a certificate of authority to transact any class of insurance in California, nor shall it affect the right of any such unincorporated insurer to hereafter apply for or be issued a renewal certificate of authority or an amended certificate of authority to transact additional classes of insurance; provided, that any such unincorporated insurer shall continue to comply insofar as applicable with the same requirements as are now or hereafter applicable to corporate insurers; nor shall

this section prohibit the issuance of a certificate of exemption to the trustees of a fund established by one employer, or by two or more employers in the same industry, or by one or more labor unions, or by one or more employers and one or more labor unions, to insure employees of the employers or members of the unions for the benefit of persons other than the employers or the unions.

The Public Employees’ Retirement System is exempt from the provisions of this code with respect to the group life insurance program established pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 21400), Chapter 9, Part 3, Title 2 of the Government Code.

of insurance business for which that insurer is otherwise qualified under the provisions of this chapter and under its charter, unless the commissioner finds that any of the following is true:

insured.

Sections 11770 and 11778 to 11780.5, inclusive, admission is secured by procuring a certificate of authority from the commissioner. The certificate shall not be granted until the applicant conforms to the requirements of this code and of the laws of this state prerequisite to its issue.

its business set forth in this code and in the other laws of this state, including, but not limited to, Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1631), with regard to employees or contractors who solicit, negotiate, or effect insurance.

shall the applicant be permitted to waive that period.

In addition to any or all of the classes of insurance which it is permitted to transact by all other applicable provisions of this code, any incorporated insurer admitted or hereafter admitted for one or more of the classes of insurance stated in Section 100, except life, title, mortgage, or mortgage guaranty shall (subject to any limitations contained in its articles of incorporation or charter) be admitted after January 1, 1990, for any or all of the following classes, upon making application therefor and complying with all applicable requirements of law, if its paid-in capital is not less than two million six hundred thousand dollars ($2,600,000) or the

aggregate of the amounts hereinafter set forth opposite the classes transacted by it in the United States if an alien insurer, or in any jurisdiction if other than an alien insurer, whichever is lower; provided, that the paid-in capital of incorporated insurers not transacting either fire, marine or surety insurance making application under this section shall be at least three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) in excess of that aggregate amount. In no event shall any incorporated insurer, as a condition for its admission, be permitted to have a paid-in capital of less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) or be required to have a paid-in capital in excess of two million six hundred thousand dollars ($2,600,000) for any or all of the classes of insurance hereinafter set forth.

This section shall not be applicable to life, title, mortgage, or mortgage guaranty insurance, and an insurer now or hereafter admitted to transact life, title, mortgage, or mortgage guaranty insurance shall not be admitted under the provisions of this section, but its admission is governed by other applicable provisions of this code.

Insurers admitted for one or more classes of insurance on December 31, 1989, shall be governed by the provisions of this section in effect as of December 31, 1989, until December 31, 1999. After December 31, 1999, all insurers governed by this section shall meet the capital requirements of this section as become effective

January 1, 1990. Insurers admitted for one or more classes of insurance on December 31, 1989, that thereafter amend their certificate of authority to add a class or classes of insurance shall become subject to the capital requirements of this section.

No insurer shall be issued a certificate of authority other than a renewal certificate of authority for any of the classes set forth in Section 100 unless at the time of such issuance it possesses, in addition to the minimum paid-in capital required by this code a surplus of not less than 100 percent of the minimum paid-in capital required.

As used in this section, surplus means the excess of admitted assets over the sum of (1) liabilities for losses reported, expenses, taxes and all other indebtedness and reinsurance of outstanding risks as provided by law, and (2) paid-in capital, in the case of an insurer

issuing or having outstanding shares of capital stock, or (3) the minimum paid-in capital required, in the case of any other insurer.

An insurer, including a reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, admitted on January 1, 1970, to transact automobile liability insurance under class 8 and automobile insurance under class 16, or which had a valid bona fide application to transact both such classes of insurance pending before the commissioner on or before August 1, 1970, shall not be affected by this section.

Any other insurer, including a reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, applying to transact either of such class of insurance in this state, shall possess, at the time of admission for either of such classes, in addition to all minimum paid-in capital required by

Section 700.01 and all surplus and paid-in capital required by Sections 700.02 and 700.05, an additional surplus of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000).

Notwithstanding the requirements of Sections 700.01 and 10511 until June 30, 1955, the minimum paid-in capital required for renewal, for the same classes of insurance, of the certificate of authority of any insurer which was in effect on July 1, 1953, shall be that required by such sections as effective on such date. After June 30, 1955, and until such time as such insurer increases its paid-in capital to the amount required by Sections 700.01 and 10511 as effective on October 1, 1953, the minimum paid-in capital required for such renewal shall continue to be that required by such sections as effective on July 1, 1953, but such insurer shall be required to maintain a surplus,

as defined in Section 700.02, in an amount which, when combined with the amount of its paid-in capital, shall equal the minimum amount of paid-in capital required by Sections 700.01 and 10511 as effective on October 1, 1953.

Paid-in capital for life insurers is governed by Section 10510 of this code, for title insurers by Section 12359, and for mortgage guaranty insurers by Section 12640.03.

less than two million six hundred thousand dollars ($2,600,000) the minimum shall be measured by adding to the amounts set forth in Section 700.01 two million two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($2,250,000) for life insurance, two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for mortgage insurance, one million dollars ($1,000,000) for mortgage guaranty insurance and two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for title insurance.

In applying such provisions, it shall be conclusively presumed that an insurer transacts all classes of insurance for which it is or seeks to be admitted to transact in this state.

Subject to the annual fee provisions of Section 705, every certificate of authority shall be for an indefinite term and shall expire with the expiration or termination of a corporate existence of the holder thereof. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, whenever the commissioner shall determine, after notice and hearing, that any insurer to whom such certificate has been issued is in arrears to the State, or to any county or city in the State, for fees, licenses, taxes, assessments, fines or penalties, accrued on business transacted in the State, or is otherwise in default for failure to comply with any of the laws of this State regarding the governmental control of

such insurer by the State, he may order that such insurer comply with the said requirements within 30 days of such determination. If the insurer fails to comply within such period, the certificate of authority may then be revoked, unless the commissioner’s order is stayed by a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

business in this state.

insurance in this state if the person does any of the following:

This subdivision shall not apply to any lawful placement with a nonadmitted insurer, including when a person conveys a quote, accepts an application, and conducts all communications with a California resident solely through a surplus line broker or special lines’ surplus line broker pursuant to California surplus line laws.

Except when performed by a surplus line broker, the following acts are misdemeanors when done in this state:

In addition to any

penalty provided for commission of misdemeanors, a person violating any provision of this section shall forfeit to this state the sum of five hundred dollars ($500), together with one hundred dollars ($100) for each month or fraction thereof during which he or she continues the violation. This section shall not apply to advertising authorized by Section 703.1, subdivision (h) of Section 1760.5, or Section 1773.

contain any information about the nonadmitted insurer’s premiums or rates, and (4) no specific product shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation, in a television or radio broadcast, or in a news magazine of general circulation.

Any person, including, but not limited to, persons licensed or certificated under this code or exempted from regulation under this code, who as a part of any business advertises as, or holds himself or herself out as, qualified to advise the public concerning insurance or qualified to administer workers’ compensation for employers and who in connection with or as part of that business also, with or without consideration, (a) suggests or recommends to an employer, or advises an employer, that the employer purchase aggregate excess or aggregate stop-loss workers’

compensation insurance, or (b) names or suggests to an employer, or advises an employer of, a nonadmitted insurer from whom aggregate excess or aggregate stop-loss workers’ compensation insurance might be purchased, is guilty of a misdemeanor. This section does not apply if the employer is a self-insured public entity, including any agency, board, or commission provided for by a joint exercise of powers agreement, or those who have been issued a certificate by the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations to self-insure.

The commissioner may suspend the certificate of authority of an insurer for not exceeding one year whenever he finds, after proper hearing following notice, that such insurer engages in any of the following practices:

amount due under the terms of the policies or resort to litigation against such insurer to secure the payment of the amount due.

The order of suspension shall prescribe the period of such suspension.

The proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the commissioner shall have all the powers granted therein.

The commissioner may decline to grant or may suspend or revoke a certificate of authority of any holder of such certificate authorized to be certificated under this code if any person or persons, directly or indirectly, or any person who as an affiliate or part of any affiliate, directly or indirectly, owning or controlling, in the aggregate, any interest in more than 10 percent of the stock of such holder of the certificate, or its subsidiary, or any company or entity controlling such holder, or if any officer or director of such holder has been convicted on, or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, an indictment or information in any jurisdiction charging a felony for theft

or larceny, mail fraud, or violation of any corporate securities statute or any insurance statute.

The commissioner, in any proceeding under Section 704 for any of the violations specified in that section, may, by an alternative order, permit the holder of that certificate of authority to elect in writing to pay a specified money penalty, within a specified time, in lieu of the suspension of its certificate of authority. If the holder so elects, the sum of money specified shall be paid to the commissioner for the use of the State of California. The sum specified shall not exceed fifty-five thousand dollars ($55,000). If the holder so electing fails to pay the specified sum within the specified time the commissioner shall, unless his or her order be

lawfully stayed, forthwith put in effect the alternative specified in his or her order.

All moneys received by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall, when appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature, be available for expenditure by the commissioner in accordance with law in administration and enforcement of this code and other insurance laws.

The authority vested in the commissioner by this section shall be additional to and not in lieu of any other authority to enforce any penalties, fines or forfeitures, denials, suspensions, restrictions, or revocations of certificates of authority otherwise authorized by law.

The commissioner shall require the payment of one hundred thirty-six dollars ($136), in advance, as a fee for filing an application for each amendment of a certificate of authority authorizing any insurer to transact business in this state. Notwithstanding Section 701, each insurer possessing a certificate of authority of indefinite term pursuant to that section shall owe and pay an annual fee of four hundred twenty-four dollars ($424), in advance, on account of that certificate until its final expiration. That fee shall be for annual periods commencing on July 1 of each year and ending on June 30 of each year and is due on each March 1 and is delinquent on and after each April 1.

The commissioner shall require the payment of four thousand two hundred thirty-three dollars ($4,233), in advance, as a fee for filing an application and all supporting exhibits including articles of incorporation, certificates of organization, certificates of capital and assets, certificates of deposit, financial statements, affidavits, appointments of agents for service of process, bonds, deposit schedules, appraisals, and other papers, in support of each original certificate of authority. That fee shall be in lieu of the fees for filing or receiving those papers in support of an application for an original certificate of authority as specified in Section 940.1 and as specified in the following sections of the Insurance Code as they existed on January 1, 1963: 705, 712, 900.5, 946, 976, 1350, 1590 (but not

1599), 1601, 7034, 9034, and 11090.