ELIHU E. JACKSON, ESQUIRE, GOVERNOR.

hold, or shall do any business of insurance of
any kind, or make any guaranty, contract or
pledge for the payment of annuities or endow-
ments, or money, whether the amount thereof
be fixed or contingent, to the families or repre-
sentatives of any policy or certificate-holder, or
the like; or shall advertise or circulate any card,
circular, notice, or open or keep any office for
the transaction of said business, except an in-
surance broker duly licensed, without fully
complying with all the provisions of this act,

689

shall be subject to the fines imposed by section
thirty-six of this article ; and the term insurance
company, as used in this article, shall be taken
to embrace every corporation, association, part-
nership or individual engaging in such business;
and every such corporation, association, part-
nership or individual making any engagement
for the payment of any money or other benefits
in the event of sickness, accident or death, or
other contingency, either to the member, policy
or certificate-holder, or by whatsoever name the
same may be known, or to their families or rep-
resentatives, or entering into any contract or
agreement in which the chances or probabilities
of the duration of life, or the rate of mortality
or hazard of occupation are in any way involved
as an element or condition of such contract or
agreement, shall be deemed and taken to be a
life insurance company within the meaning of
this article, and shall be subject to all the re-
quirements of law applicable to said life insur-

Defining the
term insur-
ance compan-
ies.

ance companies ; provided, that the said business
may be conducted on the mutual or co-operative
plan, and that all such organizations shall, prior
to beginning business, and thereafter, have in
force bona fide applications for membership from
at least one hundred persons; and in case said
organization issues its certificates for a maxi-
mum sum of less than five hundred dollars, these
said applications shall at least equal ten thous-
and dollars of insurance, and if any certificate
or insurance on one life be issued in excess of
five hundred dollars, then they shall at least
equal the amount of insurance now required by
law for a mutual company, and in addition
thereto comply with the following sub-sections
44

Mutual or
co-operative.