New York Life Insurance Review
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Belinda Estes
New York Life Insurance Review
Life is unpredictable, and that can leave you and your family unsure of your financial future. Life insurance gives you peace of mind about what you’ll leave behind for your family should anything happen. You can even grow your money with a high-yield policy to further secure your financial portfolio. Purchasing this kind of insurance is one of the biggest life decisions you'll make, so it only makes sense to compare life insurers before making a decision. That's why we've put together this review of New York Life.
This is one of the oldest and most highly-rated life insurance companies in New York. In this review, you'll find a comparison of their pros and cons, FAQs, and comparisons of their most popular policies.
New York Life Insurance company overview
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Pros |
Cons |
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Superior financial strength rating |
No online quotes |
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Wide variety of products offered |
Most Policies require a medical exam |
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Whole-life policies build cash value earlier than competitors |
Conversion fee to switch from term to permanent |
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Tax-free death benefits |
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New York Life was established over 175 years ago and is the second-largest life insurance company in the US. In 2021, they paid out $1.8 billion in dividends and they are projected to pay out over 2 billion in 2023.
They offer a wide array of coverage options with some policies offering riders that extend standard coverage. All things considered, it's no secret why they are considered one of the best life insurance companies in the US.
New York Life Insurance coverage
New York Life is a mutual insurer, meaning the policy owners own the company and there are no outside shareholders. Certain policyholders are entitled to vote in board elections and receive dividends. Because of this, you can guarantee that policies are truly meant to benefit policyholders.
New York Life has a wide variety of policies and riders available including:
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Term
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Whole life
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Universal
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Variable Universal
What a New York Life Insurance plan offers
New York Life offers three different types of term life policies with optional riders. They also offer yearly convertible term options, that allow you to convert your policies to a permanent policy in the future.
Although they are not considered a boutique investment firm they also offer investment approaches in the form of cash-growing policies to grow your money with high yields. They also have alternative investment opportunities often growing your money much quicker than competing policies. They also offer other products such as:
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ETFs
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Retirement plans
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Mutual Funds
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College savings accounts
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Wealth management
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Estate management
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AARP new york life insurance plans
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Etc.
What a New York Life Insurance plan doesn't offer
New York Life doesn’t offer online quotes for their products. You have to reach out to an agent to discuss policies and what your rates would be. They also don't offer any policies without getting a medical exam.
Types of coverage plan options available
New York life has many policy options for all levels of financial need and life circumstances, even for life insurance beginners. Some of the most popular policies include their term life, whole, and universal policies, which we’ll discuss in length below.
Term
What is term life Insurance? It's a life insurance policy that covers you through a certain period of time and then expires. This coverage guarantees your beneficiaries receive a payout should you during the term called a death benefit.
New York Life offers three main types of term life insurance that include:
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Yearly Convertible
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Level Premium Convertible 10-20
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Million Plus Level term 10
All three policies also allow you to convert the policies to permanent ones without an additional medical exam. However, they typically charge a fee to convert them.
They also offer riders that complement your policies like long-term care insurance should you become permanently disabled. They also offer riders that allow your spouse to take over your paid-up insurance policy without a medical exam.
New York Life Whole Life Insurance Policies
Whole life insurance is a permanent policy that lasts for your entire life with a guaranteed fixed premium. These policies also accrue a cash value over time that you can borrow from when needed.
Whole life insurance from New York Life offers two types of policies, a standard whole-life policy, and a custom whole-life policy. Custom policies give the policyholders the option to maximize their cash value growth, or to pay higher premiums for a set amount of time, rather than smaller premiums for their whole life.
New York Life AARP life insurance program
These new york life AARP insurance policies are offered to members at a discount to regular rates. They also offer the guaranteed acceptance rider with all levels of protection for these plans.
Universal
There is three types of universal life insurance policies that New York Life offers. The first type is a basic universal policy that lets you customize policy terms like
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Death benefit amount
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Coverage length
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Premium
Their custom guarantee policy guarantees your death benefit but doesn't grow cash value. It also offers a fixed premium for as long as you choose.
The New York Life Protection Up to Age 90 is a good alternative to permanent life insurance. This policy is ideal for business owners or families that need at least $1 million in life insurance until age 90.
Variable Universal
These types of policies are a type of permanent life insurance policy that allows you to invest money in different investment options. These options can include stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. They accumulate cash value depending on how well your investments perform.
No exam life insurance
What is no-exam life insurance? It's an insurance policy that doesn't require you to take a medical exam in order to be eligible to purchase a policy. Unfortunately, New York Life doesn't offer any no-exam policies. The only exception is with the paid-up spouse rider, which allows your spouse to take over your already paid-up policy with no medical exam.
New York Life Insurance accessibility
New York Life is not just life insurance for New York, they offer some version of all its policies to consumers in all states.
Contact information
To contact New York Life you can use telephone, email and an online contact form. There are a few numbers to contact New York Life Insurance customer service:
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1-212-576-7000 If your number is local to New York.
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1-800-225-5695
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1-877-279-0325
You can also reach them through email at:
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cad_siu@newyorklife.com
Availability
They offer some version of every base policy in every state. However, not all rider options are available in all states. They offer coverage for every stage of life with some that cover customers from ages 15-90.
Rider options
New York Life offers a wide range of riders to supplement your policy. These riders include but are not limited to:
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Spouses' paid-up insurance purchase option: This allows your spouse to use the proceeds from your policy to purchase paid-up insurance with no additional medical exam.
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Money-Back: This gives you the ability to get your money back if you choose to cancel your insurance policy.
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Living Benefits: Allows you to use a portion of your death benefit should you be diagnosed with a terminal illness.
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Disability Waiver of Premium: This rider ensures New York Life will cover your premiums if you become disabled.
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Child Insurance: This allows you to add term life insurance coverage for your children. There is also an option to switch them to a permanent policy later on.
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Accidental Death: This gives your beneficiaries an additional amount if your death is caused by an accident. However, this coverage automatically ends at 70.
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Lapse Protection Benefit: This ensures your policy won't terminate even if your cash surrender value is too low to cover the charges.
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New York Life Long-Term Care Life Insurance
New York Life Insurance customer satisfaction
Overall, New York Life has relatively low complaints from its customers. They also have high financial strength ratings and have received many awards and accolades.
Third-party ratings
New York Life is not accredited with BBB and has a B- rating on its profile. They also have an A++ rating with AM Best for their financial strength.
Customer reviews and complaints
Customer reviews are mostly positive, quoting easy claim processes, friendly customer service reps, agents that are financial professionals, and available coverage options. However, there are a number of negative reviews mostly citing long call wait times for customer service, or complications with medical exams. There are also several complaints about the waiting period for New York Life Insurance payments from death benefits.
Giving back
New York Life has a long history of giving to both national and local charities. Mostly for youth education, and youth bereavement programs.
New York Life Insurance FAQ
How much is New York Life Insurance?
New York Life is at a higher price point than other insurance companies. Exact costs depend on the policies purchased, rider options, history of life circumstances, and other parameters.
How do you cancel New York Life Insurance?
Contact Customer Service via phone at 1-800-225-5695, or through the contact form on their website.
How do you cash out a New York Life Insurance policy?
If you're a beneficiary claiming a death benefit you can initiate a request online through their start a claim link. You can also call the customer service number at 1-800-228-5695.
Life policy owners will need to contact their local agent to start the process.
Who owns the New York Life Insurance company?
New York Life is a mutual company. Meaning the policyholders are the owners.
How we evaluated New York Life Insurance services
We used a number of sources to compile our information including New York Life's own website. We also evaluated their available policies and coverage levels, and other New York Life Insurance reviews from customers and third parties.
Summary of New York Life Insurance Review
If you're in the market for life insurance New York Life is one of the oldest and most reliable mutual insurance companies in the US. They compare favorably to other companies like increasingly popular life insurance start-ups. They have strong positive ratings with third parties and their customers. They also have fewer complaints than other companies their size, like Globe Life Insurance Company of New York.
They offer many different policies and rider options, but they all require medical exams to be eligible. They also offer investment products to give their customers strong financial security.
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