The Los Angeles-based company, which has been losing money for six consecutive years, agreed to immediately stop selling new policies, state officials said. It currently serves 83,000 customers with financial products ranging from life insurance to burial, mortgage and disability insurance and annuities. State Department of Insurance examiners, who said they had been monitoring Golden State closely for a number of years, reported that the insurer was losing about $200,000 a month and was expected to run out of money by year's end. 'For the protection of its policyholders, the company has been seized to prevent continuing financial deterioration,' said state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. As Golden State's legal 'conservator,' Poizner has sole authority under state law over all company business activities and assets. Larkin Teasley, Golden State's president and chairman, was not available for comment Wednesday morning. According to court documents, state law requires that Golden State have at least $5 million in capital and surplus funds to pay claims and operating expenses. But as of June 30 the company had only $909,443, insurance examiners said. Poizner's Conservation and Liquidation Office, which currently controls 25 seized insurance companies, will oversee the payment of pending claims while it develops a plan to 'wind down' Golden State's operations, the Department of Insurance said. In the meantime, policyholders are being told to continue paying premiums if they want their policies to remain valid. Customers with questions can contact their insurance agent or the California Department of Insurance at (800) 927-4357 or online, the department said. The department hopes to broker an arrangement with another life insurer to take over Golden State's business so that policyholders and their families can continue to be protected financially, said spokesman Darrel Ng. Golden State does most of its business in California but also operates in Texas, Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina and Louisiana. In 2008, it sold about $11.6 million worth of life insurance and related financial products, with 46 percent of the business being done in California, mainly serving black policyholders. 