Life Insurance Companies in New York

• Currently, there are 177 life insurers licensed to do business in New York State.  Of that, 98 are companies with their home office in New York and 79 are foreign companies that are licensed to do business in this state.

• There are approximately 22,100 New York residents who are employed directly by life insurance companies in 2006.  Approximately 73,000 New York residents are licensed to sell life insurance in New York.
• The life insurance industry generates thousands of additional jobs by the goods and services it purchases or leases from other businesses in the state, such as law, accounting, actuarial and consulting firms, computers and business machines, furniture and equipment, printing and delivery services, office supplies, cleaning, maintenance, repair, security services and other needs.

Life Insurers’ Investments in New York’s Economy

• In 2006, life insurance companies invested approximately $350 billion of their assets in New York's economy.

• Of that, the largest proportion, $300 billion, was invested in stocks and bonds that helped finance state and municipal infrastructure, utilities, public and private construction, generating thousands of jobs and innumerable services in New York.

• Life insurers provided $20 billion in mortgage loans on farm, residential and commercial properties and owned $2 billion in real property in New York in 2006.

New York Residents Covered

• New York residents owned 9 million individual life insurance policies in 2006, with coverage averaging $130,000 per policyholder.
• Individual life insurance coverage purchased in 2006 in New York totaled $140 billion.
• In 2006, New York residents had $2 trillion in death benefit coverage.
• Group life insurance coverage amounted to $720 billion in New York in 2006.

Benefits to Policyholders and Beneficiaries

• In 2006, New Yorkers received approximately $30 billion from life insurers in the form of death benefits, matured endowments, policy dividends, surrender values, and annuity payments, the second highest amount of any state in the nation.

Life Insurance in the United States

• With $4.3 trillion invested in the U.S. economy, life insurers are one of the largest sources of investment capital in the nation.
• Life insurers are the largest source of bond financing for corporate America.
• The life insurance industry's retirement security and financial protection products cover over 65% of American families.
• Life insurers provide benefit payments in excess of $300 billion each year in the United States, helping families guarantee long-term financial security - now and in retirement.