Every domestic insurance company, association, order, or fraternal benefit society doing business on the assessment plan shall collect and keep at all times in its treasury one regular loss assessment sufficient to pay one regular average loss; and no such company, association, order, or fraternal benefit society shall be licensed by the Commissioner unless it makes and maintains with him for the protection of its obligations at least five thousand dollars ($5,000) in United States or North Carolina bonds, in farm loan bonds issued by federal loan banks, or in the bonds of some city, county, or town of North Carolina to be approved by the Commissioner, or deposit with him a good and sufficient bond , secured by a deed of trust on real estate situated in North Carolina and approved by him, or by depositing with the Commissioner a bond in an amount of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), issued by any corporate surety company authorized to do business in this State.  The Commissioner may increase the amount of deposit to the amount of reserve on the contracts of the association or society.  The provisions of this section shall not apply to the farmers mutual fire insurance associations now doing business in the State and restricting their activities to not more than six adjacent counties. (Rev., s. 4792; 1913, c. 119, s. 1; 1917, c. 191, s. 2; C.S., s. 6360; 1933, c. 47; 1945, c. 386; 1991, c. 720, ss. 4, 87.)