Leadership

The unfolding impacts of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank introduced much uncertainty within the financial services industry and beyond. Many people are questioning the strength of the institutions where they do business and work.

At New York Life, we have been successfully navigating the unexpected for 178 years. We’ve steered our customers through some of the toughest times in history, from the Civil War to the Great Depression to the recent pandemic – and we’re well-positioned to continue to do so.

As New York Life CEO & President Craig DeSanto said in the company's 2022 financial results, “Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, New York Life’s financial strength is as robust as ever and we remain exceptionally well-positioned to manage through any environment.”

As a mutual company, New York Life does not answer to Wall Street or shareholders, allowing us to maintain a long-term view and stay rooted in our core values of financial strength, humanity, and integrity.

Our strong capital position, ample surplus – capital above and beyond the reserves already set aside to pay the benefits the company promises – and diversified business and investment portfolios enable us to continue to be there for those who rely on us, whatever lies ahead.

We can make this promise because of who we are and what we offer:

• Unsurpassed financial strength ratings for our industry 
  • All four of the major credit rating agencies (Standard & Poor's, AM Best, Moody's, and Fitch) have awarded us the highest financial-strength ratings currently given to any U.S. life insurer1.
  • Our ability to meet our financial commitments is seen by these independent analysts as being extremely strong.
• Well-diversified as both a business and investor
  • Both our business and investment portfolios are characterized by strong diversification.
  • Our core life insurance franchise is complemented by a diverse portfolio of strategic businesses that can generate dependable earnings throughout the economic cycle.
  •  Likewise, in our investment portfolio, we focus on long-term stable returns that match our liabilities.
  • We avoid outsized stakes in any one investment and ensure enough liquidity (available cash) to meet our obligations to policy owners, year after year.
  • In addition, we have abundant access to other forms of liquidity as well.
• A resilient, well-capitalized balance sheet
  • The benefit of our conservative and prudent approach is a balance sheet that’s able to withstand shocks of all kinds.
  • For example, we have accumulated a strong $30.1 billion surplus2 by carefully balancing what we earn against the promises we’ve made.
  • This provides an additional cushion of support to the reserves already set aside to meet our future obligations.
  • We’re never complacent about our financial strength. By regularly ‘stress testing’ our financial position against various market scenarios, our policy owners and clients can be confident that we’re solidly positioned to meet the financial commitments we’ve made to them – now and in the future.
• The largest mutual insurance company in the United States3
  • As a mutual company, we’ve always operated in the best interests of our policy owners, not external shareholders.
  • We are exclusively focused on meeting our financial commitments to our policy owners without being distracted by the need to answer to outside investors. In tough times, our mutuality has always held us and our customers in good stead.
  • This includes our ability to pay dividends to our eligible participating policy owners for 169 consecutive years4.

New York Life is built for times like these.

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