New York Life Insurance Company reported that operating earnings grew 11 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, hitting a new high of $1.76 billion. New York Life officials said the increase marked the fourth consecutive year of record earnings.
NY Life chairman and CEO Ted Mathas attributed the strong growth to the "powerful combination" of the company's mutual company business model, career agency system, market-leading life insurance business and large-scale asset management operation. These factors, he said, have "enabled the company to thrive in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."
The primary driver of the robust earnings were growth within NYLife's investments business, which includes annuities, mutual funds, institutional asset management and retirement planning services. The investment business, said Mathas, "contributed significantly" to NYLife's financial strength and increased dividend payout to participating policyholders in 2014.
New York Life achieved an 8 percent growth in surplus and asset valuation reserve in 2013, a primary measure of financial strength, reaching a record high of $21.1 billion. Mathas said the surplus was "the highest" among mutual life insurers.
