Leadership

New York Life’s robust strength and stability means we are built for times like these.

New York Life Building

At New York Life, we have been successfully navigating the unexpected for 179 years. We’ve steered our customers through some of the toughest times in history, from the Civil War to the Great Depression to the more recent Great Recession and COVID pandemic – and we’re well-positioned to continue to do so.

As New York Life Chair, President & CEO Craig DeSanto said in the company's 2023 financial results release, “The remarkable results we achieved in 2023, including surpassing $3 billion in operating earnings1 for the first time in New York Life’s history, are a testament to the power of our mutuality, the strength of our differentiated business model, and the exemplary work of our team..”

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 insurer2.
    • 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 $31.9 billion surplus3 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 States4
    • 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 170 consecutive years5.

New York Life is built for times like these.

Note: “New York Life” or “the company” as used throughout the Report, can refer either separately to the parent company, New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC), or one of its subsidiaries, or collectively to all New York Life companies, which include NYLIC and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (NYLIAC), NYLIFE Insurance Company of Arizona (NYLAZ), Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA), and New York Life Group Insurance Company of NY (NYLGICNY). NYLAZ and LINA are not authorized in New York, and do not conduct insurance business in New York. LINA and NYLGICNY are referred to as the New York Life Group Benefit Solutions business. Any discussion of ratings and safety throughout the Report applies only to the financial strength of New York Life, and not to the performance of any investment products issued by the company. Such products’ performances will fluctuate with market conditions.

 

1 Operating earnings is the measure used for management purposes to track the company’s results from ongoing operations and the underlying profitability of the business. This figure is based on Statutory Accounting principles on insurance operations with certain adjustments we believe are more appropriate as a measurement approach. The New York State Department of Financial Services recognizes only unadjusted statutory accounting practices for determining and reporting the financial condition and results of operations of an insurance company, for determining its solvency under the New York Insurance Law, and for determining whether its financial condition warrants the payment of a dividend to its policy owners.

Policy owners can view a detailed reconciliation of our management performance measure by visiting our website, www.newyorklife.com, beginning in mid-March. 

 

2 Individual independent rating agency commentary: Standard & Poor’s (AA+), affirmed 8/10/23; Fitch Ratings (AAA), affirmed 10/6/23; A.M. Best (A++), affirmed 10/19/23; Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), affirmed 11/17/23.

 

3 Total surplus, which includes the asset valuation reserve (AVR), is one of the key indicators of the company’s long-term financial strength and stability and is presented on a consolidated basis of the company. NYLIC’s statutory surplus was $25.29 billion and $23.89 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Included in NYLIC’s statutory surplus is NYLIAC’s statutory surplus totaling $8.93 billion and $8.54 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and LINA’s statutory surplus of $1.86 billion and $1.65 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. AVR for NYLIC was $4.51 billion and $4.23 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. AVR for NYLIAC was $1.94 billion and $1.89 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. AVR for LINA was $0.12 billion and $0.09 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Policy owners can view audited statutory financial statements by visiting our website, www.newyorklife.com, beginning in mid-March. 

4 Based on revenue as reported by “Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual),” Fortune magazine, 6/5/2023. For methodology, please see http://fortune.com/fortune500/.

5Dividends are not guaranteed. New York Life Insurance Company is a mutual company that issues participating products that are eligible for dividends, but is also the parent of subsidiaries which issue non-participating products. The participating products are invested in separate and distinct portfolios and have their own dividend scales.

BUILT FOR TIMES LIKE THESE is a trademark of New York Life Insurance Company.

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Media contact

Kevin Maher
New York Life Insurance Company
(212) 576-7937
Kevin_B_Maher@newyorklife.com