New York Life Insurance Review 2025
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Tim Bain
Licensed Insurance Agent
Tim Bain is a licensed life insurance agent with 23 years of experience helping people protect their families and businesses with term life insurance. His insurance expertise has been featured in several publications, including Investopedia and eFinancial. He also does digital marking and analysis for KPS/3, a communications and marking firm located in Nevada.
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Dec 4, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by insurance experts.
UPDATED: Dec 4, 2023
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider.
Our insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
What’s New In 2021 For New York Life Insurance
How Has Covid-19 Affected New York Life Insurance
CEO and Chairman of New York Life Insurance, Ted Mathas, announced the company would not be laying off any employees. The promise of no layoffs extended through 2020 to help relieve anxiety and keep customer service levels high.
For the public, New York Life Insurance helped launch the Brave of Heart Fund. This charitable fund gives financial relief to families of healthcare workers who succumb to Covid-19.
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New Products Or Changes
New York Life Insurance recently introduced a new policy option called New York Life Million Plus Level Term. The policy has a death benefit of $1 million or higher for high-earning households.
New York Life Insurance In The News
On December 31, 2020, New York Life took over Cigna’s life, disability, and accident insurance lines. The $6.3 billion acquisition brought 9 million customers to the company.
2021 Latest New York Life Insurance Reviews
For the most part, recent reviews of New York Life Insurance are positive. Customers appreciate their agents checking in on their needs. They also like the steady premium rates and coverage. A few reviewers say they experienced poor service, but customers like the company’s variety of options.
New York Life Insurance Company is one of the largest and most long-standing life insurance providers in the market today.
Founded on April 12, 1845, the insurer has been in business for more than 175 years and has made a name for itself as an American life insurance institution.
Overall, it is the third-largest life insurance company in the nation, as well as the largest mutual life insurance company currently in the U.S.
Quick Guide / Table of Contents:
- About New York Life
- Quotes and Application Process
- Policies
- Riders
- Discounts
- Financial Strength
- Reviews and Customer Service
- Contact Information
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About New York Life Insurance Company
New York Life Company underwrites its own policies for term, whole, universal, and variable universal life insurance, and also provides services for retirement, investments, estate and wealth planning, and more.
The company boasts a leading rating for financial strength and has strong social commitments through employee volunteer work and charitable donations.
It also has its own organization dedicated to positive social impact – the New York Life Foundation.
Founded in 1979, the Foundation centers around assistance for children who have lost a close loved one, and providing educational opportunities.
The Foundation has contributed more than $250 million to these causes over the last four decades.
New York Life Insurance Quotes and Application Process
Customers looking to get a quote or apply for a policy can begin the process online.
New York Life enables customers to visit its website and fill out a form with basic information like their name, address, birth date, phone number, and email.
Once submitted, New York Life reviews the form and matches applicants with an agent local to their area for more details on policy pricing and purchasing.
As noted on the website, New York Life agents value human guidance during the life insurance process in order to ensure that customers’ unique needs are met.
Agents closely manage relationships with customers throughout the life of their policies.
New York Life does have a Service Forms Library on its website, enabling customers to download forms for Life Insurance and Annuities, NYLIFE Securities Brokerage Services, MainStay Mutual Funds, and Long-Term Care.
The company also recently made strides to improve its application process by partnering with Epic to enable the use of electronic health records to speed policy underwriting.
It was the first U.S. life insurer to leverage an electronic health record system in this way.
New York Life Insurance Policies
Overall, New York Life offers comprehensive life insurance policy options and even provides pathways for customers to expand temporary coverage into more permanent coverage over the life of the policy.
In addition to traditional policies, customers can also work with a New York Life agent to customize policy options and create a plan that best fits their needs.
Term Life Insurance Coverage
Term Life provides temporary coverage with options to extend or expand coverage over the life of the policy.
On average, these policies have a set length of coverage, usually from 10 to 20 years, wherein customers pay monthly premiums for as long as coverage lasts.
These premium amounts are locked in and do not change over the set period of coverage.
Term life policies do not provide cash value or investment growth, but death benefits can be transferred, tax free, to policy beneficiaries.
This product is good for those seeking temporary coverage with the option to convert it to permanent coverage later on.
Customers can select from a Yearly Convertible policy, which enables them to convert it to a permanent policy, and includes a low starting premium that gradually increases over the life of the policy.
New York Life also offers a Level Premium Convertible policy, which, as described above, includes locked-in premium amounts that support predictable costs for customers over the 10-20-year policy limit.
After this period, premiums increase annually.
Whole Life Insurance
This plan supports guaranteed lifetime protection and dependable cash value growth.
These policies provide coverage for as long as premiums are paid, and there are options for monthly, quarterly, or yearly premium payments.
What’s more, premiums never increase over the course of the policy, and policy owners can access the cash value of the policy when needed through accrue, tax-deferred paid dividends.
As with the term life policies, death benefits can be transferred, tax free, to beneficiaries.
Whole life insurance is beneficial for individuals who need long-term coverage and want the peace of mind that access to cash value that grows over time can provide.
In this way, customers can support large purchases like a mortgage, tuition, or retirement.
Although dividends on these policies is not guaranteed, New York Life has paid policy owners annually for the last 164 years.
The company provides options for Value Whole Life, Whole Life, and Custom Whole Life, so customers can select the one that suits their situation.
Universal Life
This coverage enables long-term protection, and is a beneficial option for customers that aren’t prioritizing cash value growth with their life insurance.
Policy owners can maintain their initial premium cost over the life of the policy, or adjust it based on their financial or coverage requirements.
A shift from term and whole life, only in some cases do these policies provide cash value with the opportunity for growth, which is typically applied to flexibility for premium payment.
As with other policy options, death benefits can be transferred.
Customers seeking the best long-term coverage for the price, with the option to make coverage and premium adjustments later on, should choose a universal life policy.
New York Life provides options for Universal Life: Current Performance for those that want more flexibility, as well as Universal Life: Custom Guarantee for guaranteed death benefits and a fixed premium.
Variable Universal Life
Variable Universal, on the other hand, offers long-term coverage as well as cash value with the opportunity for growth according to market performance.
Customers can maintain their coverage with a fixed premium amount or can change their premium to align with their budgetary or coverage requirements.
While the cash value of the policy will shift based on overall market performance, policy owners can access this funding when need be.
This is a good option for individuals that need permanent, long-term coverage, but still, want to be able to access the cash value of the policy if required.
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New York Life Insurance Riders
New York Life has several add-on options, or riders, for customers to choose from, particularly for its term and whole life policies.
Riders enable policy owners to include special provisions within their policies and typically include an extra cost built into the monthly premium.
These riders are not available in every state, and customers should consult an agent to determine availability.
- Spouse’s Paid-Up rider enables the spouse of the policyholder to use the proceeds from the policy to enable their own insurance coverage, after the death of the main policyholder. This rider is not available through any other insurance provider.
- Disability Waiver of Premium rider means that New York Life will cover policyholder premiums if they become disabled during the coverage period. This a popular option among New York Life customers.
- Living Benefits rider allows policyholders to use part of their death benefits to cover the cost of treatment or other care if they fall terminally ill. Many New York Life customers take advantage of this option.
- Policy Purchase rider enables customers to add permanent coverage through an additional policy later on, without the requirement for a medical exam, so long as they already hold a policy with New York Life.
New York Life Insurance Discounts
New York Life does not provide many discounts and much of the details around discounts must come directly from a New York Life insurance agent.
However, the company does offer a 5% discount on the first year premium for existing New York Life policy owners when they enroll in its NYL My Care long-term care insurance.
New York Life also offers a 25% Partner’s Discount for the spouse or partner of policy owners that purchase their own, separate policies.
New York Life Insurance Financial Strength
- Underwriter: New York Life underwrites its own policies
- Market share: Commands a leading position in the U.S. life insurance market
- Premiums Written: n/a
- Standard & Poor’s Financial Rating: AA+
- Moody’s Financial Rating: Aaa
- AM Best Financial Rating: A++
While independent agencies have their own standards and systems for financial rating, New York Life consistently earning top ratings from multiple, independent organizations speaks to its robust and secure financial standing.
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New York Life Insurance Reviews and Customer Service
New York Life has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, as well as a four-star review from TrustPilot.
Despite 21 complaints logged with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as of May 2019, the company has an overall positive reputation for customer service and support.
Customers find New York Life to be a comprehensive provider that offers beneficial value for the cost of services.
In addition, the company has made strides within the life insurance industry, being the first provider to use electronic health records to streamline policy writing, and continually expanding its service portfolio.
New York Life Phone Number & Contact Information
- Homepage URL: https://www.newyorklife.com
- Company phone: 1-800-225-5695
- Headquarters address: 51 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010
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Tim Bain
Licensed Insurance Agent
Tim Bain is a licensed life insurance agent with 23 years of experience helping people protect their families and businesses with term life insurance. His insurance expertise has been featured in several publications, including Investopedia and eFinancial. He also does digital marking and analysis for KPS/3, a communications and marking firm located in Nevada.
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by insurance experts.