(a) Every society authorized to do business in this State shall appoint in writing the Secretary of State and each successor in office to be its true and lawful attorney upon whom all lawful process in any action or proceeding against it shall be served, and shall agree in the writing that any lawful process against it which is served on the attorney shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon the society, and that the authority shall continue in force so long as any liability remains outstanding in this State. Copies of the appointment, certified by the Secretary of State, shall be deemed sufficient evidence thereof and shall be admitted in evidence with the same force and effect as the original thereof might be admitted.

(b) Service may be made upon the Secretary of State, or if absent, upon the person in charge of his or her office. It shall be made in duplicate and shall constitute sufficient service upon the society. When legal process against a society is served upon the Secretary of State, he or she shall forthwith forward one of the duplicate copies by registered mail prepaid, directed to the secretary or corresponding officer.

(c) The service authorized in this section shall be alternative to and not exclusive of any other method of service provided by law or by rule. (1959, No. 197, § 29, eff. Nov. 22, 1959; amended 1971, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 20, eff. March 29, 1972; 2003, No. 70 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. March 1, 2004.)