(a) No foreign insurance company transacting any of the kinds of insurance as defined in § 56-2-201 shall be admitted and authorized to do business in this state until it can satisfy the commissioner that it has been organized and actively engaged in the insurance business in the state of its incorporation for a period of three (3) years prior to the date of its application to be admitted and authorized to do business in this state.

(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a foreign insurance company that is:

(1) The wholly-owned subsidiary of an insurance company or health maintenance organization admitted and authorized to do business in this state;

(2) The continuing corporation resulting from a merger or consolidation of insurance companies at least one (1) of which, prior to the merger or consolidation, met all the requirements for admission and authorization to do business in this state, including the requirement of having been actively engaged in the insurance business in its state of incorporation for three (3) years;

(3) The wholly-owned subsidiary of a holding company that also owns one hundred percent (100%) of the common capital stock, excluding qualifying shares required to be held by directors, of an insurance company or health maintenance organization admitted and authorized to do business in this state; or

(4) A foreign insurance company originally chartered and licensed to transact business in this state, and making application to redomesticate to this state upon furnishing the following from the commissioner of commerce and insurance of its state of domicile:

(A) Letter of approval to redomesticate;

(B) Letter of intent to permit the company to transfer its business and assets to this state; and

(C) A certificate of good standing.

(c) “Owned” and “owns,” as used in subsection (b), mean ownership either directly or indirectly through one (1) or more intermediaries.

(d) The commissioner, in the commissioner's sole discretion, may waive the requirement in subsection (a) for any company, if the commissioner determines it is in the public interest.