Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Must Insurance companies register with Secty of State

If they're a corporation doing business in California, they have to register with the Secretary of State and designate an agent for service of process.

Re: Must Insurance companies register with Secty of State

Your question doesn't really provide enough facts to allow an all-purpose answer. What do you mean by "insurance company?" An insurance agent or broker? An insurer? A reinsurer? And for what purpose? To be eligible to sell policies? To be liable to pay claims? What kind of insurance?

The Secretary of State has many roles. One of them is to license California and foreign corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships to do business in California. In this capacity, it acts (almost) without regard to the line of business the company is in.

Compare this with the role of the Department of Insurance, which has a much more specific role in regulating insurance companies doing business in California. This role includes checking into the insurance company's finances to make sure it is sufficiently solvent, and making other qualitiative investigations of the company's fitness to do business within the state.