New York Life Insurance Company

Early history

New York Life Insurance Company first opened in Manhattan's Financial District as Nautilus Mutual Life in 1841, 10 years after the first life insurance charter was granted in the United States. Originally chartered in 1841, the company also sold fire and marine insurance. The company's first president, James De Peyster Ogden, was appointed in 1845. Nautilus renamed itself New York Life Insurance Company in 1845 to concentrate on its life insurance business.

In its early years (1846–1848) the company, along with other insurance companies of the day including Aetna and US Life, insured the lives of slaves for their owners. By 1847 these accounted for one‑third of New York Life's policies. The board of trustees voted to end the sale of insurance policies on slaves in 1848. The company also sold policies to soldiers and civilians involved in combat during the American Civil War and paid claims under a flag of truce during that time. In the late 1800s, the company began employing female agents.

New York Life continued to grow throughout its first 100 years as the national population and the market for life insurance increased. New York Life's growth was in part fueled by its introduction of a system by which the company used agents to find new business. In 1892, company President John A. McCall introduced the branch office system: offices that served as liaisons between New York and field agents.

In 1894, the company became the first US-based insurance provider to offer life insurance to women at the same cost as men; social reformer Susan B. Anthony was one of the company's first female policyholders. In 1896, New York Life became the first company to insure people with disabilities or in hazardous occupations.

20th century

President McCall was forced to resign in the wake of the Armstrong investigation, which found that New York Life (among other insurance companies) had made extensive use of bribes to secure favorable legislation. He was replaced by Alexander Ector Orr in 1906. The New York Life Building at 51 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, designed by American architect Cass Gilbert, opened in December 1928. The company moved into the 34-story skyscraper in 1929. Later that year, New York Life's assets survived the stock market crash; state regulation and company investing policy had led New York Life to invest in government bonds and real estate, not common stocks.

Following World War II, New York Life further diversified; it invested in real estate development in the late 1940s and launched a mortgage-loan program for veterans in 1946. In 1957, New York Life hired one of the industry's first black agents, Cirilo McSween. In the 1970s, New York Life began selling annuities and mutual funds. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, as other mutual life insurance companies became publicly traded corporations, New York Life remained a mutual company. New York Life entered the Mexican market in 1999 when it acquired Seguros Monterrey from Aetna.

Recent history

New York Life, along with other insurance companies, relaxed the claims process for missing persons in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Fearful of the stability of the market during the two years prior to the 2008 financial crisis, New York Life moved its cash into other investments such as treasury bonds. During the 2008 financial crisis, New York Life Insurance Company rejected assistance from the U.S. Treasury Department.

Following the 2013 acquisition of Dexia Asset Management, later renamed Candriam Investors Group, New York Life Investments became one of the largest asset managers worldwide, with access to markets in Europe, Asia and Australia, in addition to the United States.

As of 2024, New York Life Insurance Company was the country's second-largest life insurance company. As a mutual life insurer, New York Life is owned by its policyholders and has no outside shareholders. In 2024, New York Life reported approximately $27 billion in revenue and $470 million in net income. That year, it had approximately $245 billion in total assets and $26 billion in total equity. New York Life has 12,000 agents and advisors, as of 2025. As a mutual life insurer, New York Life distributes a portion of its earnings to eligible policyholders as annual dividends. As of 2025, the company has paid a dividend every year since 1854.

Products and services

New York Life's core product is whole life insurance, a type of life insurance offering lifelong protection that builds cash value over time. The insurance businesses portfolio includes: Institutional Life, Institutional Annuities, New York Life Direct, New York Life Group Benefit Solutions, Group Membership Association Department, and Seguros Monterrey New York Life. New York Life also sells term life insurance, universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance, long-term care insurance, annuities and disability insurance. The company provides advisory services and consultation for wealth management, financial planning, income protection, retirement planning, estate planning, and business planning.

Asset management and investment

New York Life Investments is a subsidiary global asset management business which serves both institutional and retail clients.

New York Life Ventures launched in 2012. It is the corporate venture capital business of New York Life. Investments have included startup technology companies.