1. No person except a lending institution or an authorized insurer shall engage in the business of a premium finance agency without a license therefor obtained from the superintendent, as provided in this article.2. Application for license required under this article shall be in writing, and in the form prescribed by the superintendent.3. When an applicant has more than one office, separate applications for license shall be made for each such office.4. At the time of filing an application for a license, the applicant shall pay to the superintendent an investigation fee. The investigation fee shall be as prescribed pursuant to section eighteen-a of this chapter, except that, when an applicant files applications for licenses for three or more offices at the same time, the total investigation fee for all the applications shall be three times the amount prescribed pursuant to section eighteen-a of this chapter.