718 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 394

Section 33. Conditions Precedent to Beginning Business.
No person shall act as agent or solicitor in this State for any
insurance company in any manner whatever relating to insur-
ance risks, until all the provisions of this article relating there-
to have been complied with, and there has been granted by the
insurance commissioner a certificate of authority or license to
said company. All such licenses shall be issued annually on
the first day July for the period of one year, upon the pay-
ment of the license fee hereinafter specified. All licenses is-
sued for a period less than a year, except in the case of domes-
tic companies embraced within the provisions of Section 38,
shall pay pro rata for such fractional part of the year. Pro-
vided, however, that all such licenses to be issued January 1,
1928, shall be issued and paid for pro rata for the period of
eighteen months ending June 30, 1929.

Section 50. Examination of Companies. Once at least dur-
ing his term of office the commissioner shall cause the affairs
of every insurance company organized under the laws of this
State to be thoroughly inspected and examined with special re-
gard to its financial condition and its ability to fulfill its obli-
gations, and shall ascertain and determine whether or not
it has complied with the laws of this State; he shall also cause
an examination of every such company to be made whenever he
deems it prudent to do so, or upon the request of five or more
of the stockholders, creditors, policyholders, or persons pecun-
iarily interested therein, who shall make affidavit of their
belief, with specifications of reasons thereof, showing a prima
facie case that such company is in an unsound condition.
Whenever the insurance commissioner may have reason to doubt
the solvency or the correctness of the statement of any for-
eign company which may have been licensed to do business in
this State, or which may be applying for said license, he shall
communicate such doubts, and the reasons therefor, to the in-
surance commissioner, or other officer charged with the super-
vision of insurance corporations of the state in which said
company is located, and if he is not satisfied from the infor-
mation obtained from such insurance commissioner or other
officer, or from the officers of the company, that the condition
of the company is such as to warrant him in permitting it
to transact business in this State, under the provisions of this
article, he shall notify such company that it will be necessary
for him to have its affairs examined. Whenever an examina-
tion of any insurance company doing business in this State