Section 709.5 Of Article 3. Certificate Of Authority From California Insurance Code >> Division 1. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 3.
709.5
. (a) Any insurer that is organized under the laws of any
other state and is admitted to do business in this state for the
purpose of writing insurance may become a domestic insurer by
designating its principal place of business at a place in this state.
The domestic insurer shall be entitled to like certificates and
licenses to transact business in this state and shall be subject to
the authority and jurisdiction of this state.
(b) Any domestic insurer may, upon the prior approval of the
commissioner, transfer its domicile to any other state in which it is
admitted to transact the business of insurance, and upon the
transfer shall cease to be a domestic insurer, and shall be admitted
to this state if qualified as a foreign insurer. The commissioner
shall approve any proposed transfer unless he or she determines that
the transfer is not in the interest of the policyholders of this
state. An insurer seeking to transfer its domicile shall provide the
commissioner with information and documentation reasonably necessary
to make this determination. The commissioner shall either approve or
disapprove the transfer within 90 calendar days after the date of the
request. The commissioner and his or her authorized representative
shall be prohibited from seeking a waiver to extend the
90-calendar-day period, nor shall the insurer be permitted to waive
that period.
(c) The certificate of authority, agent and broker appointments
and licenses, rates, and other items that the commissioner allows in
his or her discretion, that are in existence at the time any insurer
licensed to transact the business of insurance in this state
transfers its corporate domicile to this or any other state by
merger, consolidation, or any other lawful method shall continue in
full force and effect upon that transfer if the insurer remains duly
qualified to transact the business of insurance in this state. All
outstanding policies of any transferring insurer shall remain in full
force and effect and need not be endorsed as to the new name of the
company or its new location unless so ordered by the commissioner.
Every transferring insurer shall file new policy forms with the
commissioner on or before the effective date of the transfer, but may
use existing policy forms with appropriate endorsements if allowed
by, and under such conditions as approved by, the commissioner.
However, every transferring insurer shall notify the commissioner of
the details of the proposed transfer, and shall file promptly all
resulting amendments to corporate documents filed or required to be
filed with the commissioner.
(d) An insurer seeking qualification under this section shall pay
to the commissioner a filing fee of four thousand two hundred fifty
dollars ($4,250). Except for an insurer that is a wholly owned
subsidiary of a domestic holding company, an insurer seeking
qualification shall file with the Secretary of State a notice of its
intent to redomesticate, and upon completion of the redomestication,
shall also file a designation of an agent for service of process.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, this section
shall provide the exclusive means for an admitted insurer to change
its domicile to, or transfer its domicile from, this state.