Any foreign or alien company admitted to do business in this State shall be limited with respect to doing kinds of insurance in this State in the same manner and to the same extent as are domestic companies, provided that any foreign insurance company which has been licensed to do the business of life insurance in this State continuously during a period of 20 years next preceding March 6, 1945, may continue to be licensed, in the discretion of the Commissioner, to do the kind or kinds of insurance business which it was authorized to do immediately prior to March 6, 1945. (1899, c. 44, s. 65; 1901, c. 391, s. 5; 1903, c. 438, s. 6; Rev., s. 4748; 1911, c. 111, s. 2; C.S., s. 6412; 1945, c. 384; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1027, s. 53; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 975, s. 17.)