Cal. Insurance Code § 716

No certificate of authority shall be granted to a foreign or alien applicant that has not actively transacted for three years the classes of insurance for which it seeks to be admitted. This section shall not apply to any of the following: (a) An applicant 51 percent or more of whose voting shares are owned by a reputable insurer admitted to this state for at least three years. (b) An applicant which is the successor in interest, by merger, transformation, consolidation, purchase, or other transaction, of substantially all the insurance business and going concern value of a reputable insurer which was, and still is, the dominant factor in such transaction, and could itself have been admitted. (c) An applicant 51 percent or more of whose voting shares are owned by a noninsurance corporation, or a corporation authorized as an insurer but not actively engaged in the insurance business, which corporation, directly or indirectly, owns 51 percent or more of the voting shares of one or more insurers all of which, except the applicant and those which are alien insurers, are reputable insurers admitted to this state for at least three years. (d) An applicant which meets the conditions established by the commissioner for exemption from this section.