State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Rhode-island > Title-27 > Chapter-27-25 > 27-25-35SECTION 27-25-35
§ 27-25-35 Service of process. – (a) Every society authorized to do business in this state shall appoint inwriting the commissioner of insurance and each successor in office to be itstrue and lawful attorney upon whom all lawful process in any action orproceeding against it shall be served, and shall agree in the writing that anylawful process against it which is served on the attorney shall be of the samelegal force and validity as if served upon the society, and that the authorityshall continue in force so long as any liability remains outstanding in thisstate. Copies of the appointment, certified by the commissioner of insurance,shall be deemed sufficient evidence and shall be admitted in evidence with thesame force and effect as the original might be admitted.
(b) Service shall only be made upon the commissioner ofinsurance, or if absent, upon the person in charge of the commissioner'soffice. It shall be made in duplicate and shall constitute sufficient serviceupon the society. When legal process against a society is served upon thecommissioner of insurance, the commissioner shall forward one of the duplicatecopies by registered mail, prepaid, directed to the secretary or correspondingofficer. No service shall require a society to file its answer, pleading, ordefense in less than thirty (30) days from the date of mailing the copy of theservice to a society. Legal process shall not be served upon a society exceptin the manner provided in this section. At the time of serving any process uponthe commissioner of insurance, the plaintiff or complainant in the action shallpay to the commissioner of insurance a fee of five dollars ($5.00).
