Capital limited. Deposit of security. Proviso. Further proviso, surety bonding a separate purpose. SEC. 4. The capital of any stock company organized under this act shall not be less than one hundred thousand dollars, in shares of fifty dollars each, which capital stock may be increased by a vote of two-thirds of the stockholders present or represented at any regular meeting called for that purpose to not more than five hundred thousand dollars; and no such stock company, and no company organized to do business on the mutual plan, shall be authorized to issue policies or assume any risk whatever until they shall have deposited with the State Treasurer, as security for any liability to insured parties, stocks or bonds of the United States or of this State, or of any city or county in this State authorized by act of legislature to issue the same, or first mortgage bonds of corporations organized under the laws of the State of Michigan, to the amount in par value, exclusive of interest, of not less than one hundred thousand dollars, which stocks or bonds shall be retained by the State Treas. urer, and disposed of as hereinafter directed: Provided, however, That such deposits shall be made within one year from the date of the articles of association: Provided further, That the capital of any stock company organized to do a general indemnity and surety bonding business shall be, for the separate purpose of such surety bonding business and additional to the capital required in any other business in which it may be lawfully engaged, not less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars nor more than one million dollars and its deposit of securities with the State Treasurer as herein provided for shall not be less than two hundred thousand dollars, and such capital and such deposits shall be used solely in, and shall be liable only for the debts and liabilities of such surety bonding business: Provided further, That personal obligations secured by first mortgage on improved and productive real estate within this State, worth at least double the amount of the lien and bearing interest of not less than five per centum per annum, may be received by the State Treasurer instead of the bonds or stock hereinbefore provided for in this section. Such mortgages shall be properly assigned to the State Treasurer as provided for in section twenty-one of this act, but any examination by the State Treasurer or under his direction to satisfy him respecting the title or value of the property mortgaged shall be at the expense of such company; and no mutual insurance company shall commence business, by issuing policies, until they shall have received at least five hundred applications for insurance, on which the premiums shall amount to at least five thousand dollars, nor until the examination by the Attorney General and commissioner as hereinafter provided: Provided further, That the net indebtedness of said city or proviso, net Indebtedness. county shall not exceed five per cent of the assessed valuation of all the real estate of said city or county, said valuation to be on the basis of the last preceding equalization of Deposit of security. Further proviso, real estate first mortgages. Further bonds of the State board for counties, and the proportionate amount thereof. The term net indebtedness in this section shall be Term construed. construed to denote the indebtedness of any city or county, omitting debt created for supplying the inhabitants with water, and deducting the amount of sinking funds available for the payment of such indebtedness: Provided also, That Proviso, such first mortgage bonds of corporations organized under corporations. the laws of the State of Michigan shall not be accepted as surety unless the corporation issuing such bonds shall have paid interest on said bonds and dividends on its capital stock for three successive years immediately preceding the deposit of such security; and in case any of said securities Depreciation shall depreciate below par, the State Treasurer is hereby au- of securities. thorized and directed to cause the corporation which has deposited them to make such depreciation good by additional deposit of such securities as are allowed by law and to prohibit any corporation from transacting any insurance business within this State until the same shall have been deposited: Provided further, That all provisions of law relat- Further ing to the business in this State of companies doing a gen- foreign' proviso, eral surety bonding business, which are organized under the companies. laws of other states or countries, and are doing business in this State, and all other existing laws of this State relating to such surety bonding business, in any manner, shall apply, so far as they may be applicable thereto, to companies organized for the purpose of doing a general surety bonding business under the provisions of this act. Approved June 18, 1907. 30 [No. 175.] AN ACT to amend section three of act number one hundred nineteen of the public acts of eighteen hundred ninetythree, being an act, entitled "An act to define what shall constitute fraternal beneficiary societies, orders or associations; to provide for their incorporation and the regulation of their business, and for the punishment for violation of the provisions of the act of their incorporation, and to repeal all existing acts inconsistent therewith," approved May twenty-five, eighteen hundred ninety-three, as amended by act two hundred sixty-three of the public acts of eighthundred ninety-five, approved June three, eighteen hundred ninety-five, as amended by act forty-four of the public acts of nineteen hundred three, approved April twenty-two, nineteen hundred three; the same being section seven thousand seven hundred forty-two of the Compiled Laws of eighteen hundred ninety-seven, as amended. een The People of the State of Michigan enact: SECTION 1. Section three of act number one hundred nineteen of the public acts of eighteen hundred ninety-three, being an act, entitled "An act to define what shall constitute fraternal beneficiary societies, orders or associations; to provide for their incorporation and the regulation of their business, and for the punishment for violation of the provisions of the act of their incorporation, and to repeal all existing acts inconsistent therewith," approved May twenty-five, eighteen hundred ninety-three, as amended by act two hundred sixty-three of the public acts of eighteen hundred ninety-five, approved June three, eighteen hundred ninety-five, amended by act forty-four of the public acts of nineteen hundred three, approved April twenty-two, nineteen hundred three; the same being section seven thousand seven hundred forty-two of the Compiled Laws of eighteen hundred ninetyseven, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: as SEC. 3. All such associations coming within the description as set forth in section one of this act, organized under the laws of this or any other State, province or territory, and now doing business in this State, and all associations of any other state which have been authorized by the Commissioner of Insurance to do business in this State and have been doing business herein for the period of five years and upwards, may continue their business: Provided, That they hereafter comply with the provisions of this act regulating annual reports and the designation of the Commissioner of Insurance as the person upon whom process may be served as ment of suits, process. hereafter provided: And Provided further, That suits may Proviso, be commenced in the circuit court in any county where the commenceplaintiff resides, by declaration or writ, and service shall service of be made in such cases only upon the Commissioner of Insurance in like manner and with like effect as is hereinafter provided for the service of process upon societies, orders or associations organized under the laws of any other state, province or territory and doing business in this State, and not having its principal office within this State, and for the purpose of service of process as herein provided such society, order or association shall appoint in writing the Commissioner of Insurance, or his successor in office, to be its true and lawful attorney: And Provided further, That the trial Proviso, judge may, when there is a recovery by the plaintiff in any costs. suit commenced in the circuit court, award costs to plaintiff, notwithstanding the fact that the amount recovered is less than one hundred dollars. Approved June 18, 1907. awarding of [No. 176.] AN ACT to authorize the incorporation of Threshers' Michigan Mutual Fire Insurance Companies and defining their powers and duties. The People of the State of Michigan enact: or who may insured. SECTION 1. Any number of manufacturers, owners operators of grain, bean and grass seed threshing machinery, incorporate. hay-pressing machinery, corn husker and shredder portable engines, whether traction or otherwise, steam or gasoline, portable sawmills and feed-mills operated or driven by portable engines, not less than ten, being residents of the State, may associate together and form or organize an incorporated Property company for the purpose of mutual insurance of property against loss or damage by fire or lightning, which property primarily to be insured, shall consist of portable engines, steam or gasoline, whether traction or otherwise, grain separators and attachments, bean threshers, clover hullers, hay pressing machinery, portable sawmills and feed-mills operated or driven by portable engines; and all holders of Policy holders policies of such incorporated companies, whether residing members. to be Form of policy. Company, when entitled to benefit of act. Statement to be filed, how signed, etc. Copy of articles. Publication of intention. within or without this State, are thereby members of the company issuing such policy, which policy need not be in the form or words prescribed under the act to establish a uniform policy of insurance; but no company organized under the provisions of this act shall be entitled to the benefit of this act until articles of association and by-laws in accordance therewith have been adopted by a regular or special meeting of such company, due notice of which shall have been mailed to the members at least fifteen days before the date of said meeting. SEC. 2. Such persons so associating shall file in the office of the Commissioner of Insurance a statement, signed by all the incorporators, stating their purpose of forming a company for the transaction of the business of insurance as expressed in the first section of this act, which statement shall also comprise a copy of the articles of association proposed to be adopted by them; and shall publish a notice of such, their intention, once in each week for at least five successive weeks, in a public newspaper published in the county in which the office of such company is proposed to be located. SEC. 3. The persons so associating, after having filed the may open, etc. statement and published the notice as aforesaid, may open books to receive propositions and enter into agreements in manner hereinafter specified and in accordance with the articles of association of said company. That insurance companies organized as aforesaid shall not commence business until bona fide agreements have been entered into with each for insurance with at least fifty individuals, covering property to be insured of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars. Books, when When may commence business. Real estate may hold, etc. Articles of association, what to declare. SEC. 4. The companies formed under, this act shall not purchase or hold any real estate except: First, Such as shall be necessary for their immediate accommodation in transacting business; or, Second, Such as shall have been conveyed or mortgaged to the companies in good faith by way of security for debts; or, Third, Such as shall have been conveyed to the companies in satisfaction for debts; or, Fourth, Such as shall have been purchased at sales upon judgments, decrees or mortgages in favor of said companies, or held or owned by them, and all real estate obtained by any provision of this section, except that mentioned in the first subdivision, shall be sold or disposed of within five years after the title has been perfected in any such company, unless the company shall procure a certificate from the Commissioner of Insurance that the interest of said company will materially suffer by forced sale, in which event the sale may be postponed for such period as the said Commissioner of Insurance shall direct in said certificate, not exceeding ten years in all. SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the incorporators of any company organized under the provisions of this act to declare in its articles of association, which is hereby required to be |