Independent profile. Not owned, sponsored or endorsed by New York Life.

New York Life Reviews & Complaints

New York Life Insurance Company is a mutual life insurer based at 51 Madison Avenue in New York City that says it has operated since 1845. It sells life insurance, annuities, long-term care and disability insurance, and offers investment products through its brokerage affiliate, NYLIFE Securities LLC. Customer service is 1 (800) 225-5695, and death claims go to its Dallas claims office or its online Start a claim page. Its annuity subsidiary agreed to pay a $5,529,000 penalty under a 2021 New York Department of Financial Services consent order. NYLIFE Securities' FINRA BrokerCheck report lists 13 regulatory actions by FINRA, its predecessor NASD, the SEC and state securities regulators, most recently FINRA fines in 2019 and 2021 settled without admitting or denying the findings. In a California lapse-notice class action, the Ninth Circuit affirmed judgment for the annuity subsidiary in 2026. 25 published complaint reports are linked to this profile.

REVIEWS & COMPLAINTS25on USAComplaints · none in last 3 yrs · latest 2013
PHONE1-800-225-5695Customer service
WEBSITEnewyorklife.com
HEADQUARTERSNew York, NY
PROFILE CHECKED2026-11-03
Submit a Complaint Read reviews & complaints ↓ Call 1-800-225-5695 Official website ↗
VERIFIED

Contacts

PhoneEmailAddress

Customer service & general contact

  • Customer service: policy, claim or application questions (Mon-Fri 8am-7pm ET)1-800-225-5695
  • Customer service, toll number alternative1-212-576-6600

Report abuse or suspicious activity

Other contacts

VERIFIED

Locations

  • Headquarters51 Madison Avenue New York NY 10010
  • Mailing addressNew York Life Claims & Benefits, PO Box 130539 Dallas TX 75313-0539
  • Mailing addressNew York Life Claims & Benefits, 5005 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy, Suite 1800 (overnight mail) Dallas TX 75244-6199
  • Mailing addressNew York Life Insurance Company, Cleveland Service Center, P.O. Box 6916 (service forms, traditional life and annuities) Cleveland OH 44101
EDITORIAL

Company Information

BBB, Trustpilot

Legal name
New York Life Insurance Company
Founded
1845
Business type
Mutual life insurer: life insurance, annuities, long-term care and disability insurance, and investments
Website
newyorklife.comSource: New York Life official website, checked 2026-11-03
Headquarters
New York, NYSource: New York Life FAQ on death benefit proceeds, checked 2026-11-03
  • Legal name: New York Life Insurance Company, the name in the copyright notice on its website; the DFS consent order describes it as a mutual life insurance company incorporated in New York.
  • Headquarters: 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
  • Website: newyorklife.com; the company's account portal and app are linked from the same site.
  • Subsidiaries: New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (wholly-owned, per DFS); NYLIFE Securities LLC, a Delaware limited liability company formed in 2007 and registered with the SEC, FINRA and 51 U.S. states and territories, owned 75 percent or more through NYLIFE LLC and ultimately by New York Life Insurance Company (FINRA BrokerCheck, CRD 5167).
  • Contact: 1 (800) 225-5695; claims mail address PO Box 130539, Dallas, TX 75313-0539.
EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

BBBHeadquarters listing
240 reviews · 281 complaints · BBB business grade A+
TrustpilotReviews in total
68 reviews · TrustScore 1.3 / 5
EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Whole and variable life policy value and feesClaim delays and customer serviceAgent pay, fees and recruitingOffice conduct allegations

Themes summarize what people write about most often. One complaint can touch several themes, and some complaints (a positive report, or one later retracted by its author) fit none, so themes are not a count of complaints.

CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 25 historical complaints about New York Life, published between 2003 and 2013. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources on this page.

Show 15 more on this page
EDITORIAL

Complaints about New York Life posted on this site

25 published complaint reports are linked to this profile. They are consumer and agent accounts submitted by individual users, dated between 2003 and 2013, and are allegations that have not been verified by this site or answered by the company here.

What the posts describe.

  • Life insurance values and fees: a variable universal life policy that required additional premium to stay in force, a whole life policy cashed out with a surrender charge and a loss against premiums paid, and a seven-year whole life policy with continued bills.
  • Claims and service: delayed life insurance payouts, a denied long-term disability claim, a cancellation that ended in an unauthorized policy loan being deducted from the cash value, repeated lapse notices on a policy paid by automatic payment, and unwanted mail.
  • Agent sales and hiring: sales agents who describe office fees, chargebacks of advanced commissions and quotas, and frequent agent turnover.
  • Office conduct: allegations from agents and from a spouse about harassment and discrimination at New York Life offices.

Two other posts on this site describe unexpected checks from third parties in lottery-prize offers that carried the New York Life name; they are not about New York Life's own service and are not counted among complaints about the company. The FINRA, DFS and multistate records are separate from these posts and are not added to them.

What the BBB file covers. The BBB file for the New York headquarters also covers the company's corporate-owned locations. BBB shows 281 complaints in the last three years, 52 of them in the last 12 months. It lists 235 of the 281 as answered by the business, 45 as resolved and 1 as unresolved. By BBB's complaint types, service or repair issues lead (179), followed by product (26), order (24), billing (22), sales and advertising (17), customer service (10) and delivery (3). BBB and Trustpilot figures are kept by those sites and are not combined with the posts on this site.

Had an experience with New York Life? Tell other people what happened.

Submit a Complaint
EDITORIAL

New York Life problems: who to call, death claims, cash value and where to escalate

Contact the company first. New York Life lists 1 (800) 225-5695 (1 (800) CALL-NYL) for questions about a policy, claim or application, Monday through Friday, 8am to 7pm ET, with 1 (212) 576-6600 as a toll number alternative.

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For variable life insurance and variable annuities (policy numbers beginning 57, 58, 63, 755 or 775 to 780), the company's death-benefit FAQ gives 1 (800) 598-2019, 9am to 6pm ET. If New York Life provides your disability, life or accidental death and dismemberment benefits through an employer, its contact page directs claims to [email protected].

Filing a death claim.

  • Report the death online on the company's Start a claim page, or call (800) CALL-NYL and say the word "Claims" at any time. Have the deceased policy owner's name, last known address, date of birth and date of death ready.
  • To claim by mail, download the life insurance or annuity beneficiary form (both if the person held both) and send it to New York Life Claims & Benefits, PO Box 130539, Dallas, TX 75313-0539, or by overnight mail to 5005 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy, Suite 1800, Dallas, TX 75244-6199.
  • The company's FAQ says one certified original death certificate is required per claim, even with several beneficiaries, and that a copy is acceptable for all annuity claims and for life claims of $100,000 or less in total.

Cannot find a policy. The company's lost-policy page offers a "Lost Policy" form for a beneficiary whose benefits have not been paid, a link to check unclaimed funds held by a state, and a claims specialist line at 1 (800) 695-9873.

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The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) also runs a Life Insurance Policy Locator that searches participating insurers for a deceased person's policies.

Cash value, policy loans and surrender. Only permanent policies such as whole or universal life build cash value; term life has none to cash in, although New York Life describes its term policies as ones that can be converted to permanent coverage. New York Life's own guidance explains the options this way:

  • Your policy statement typically shows both the cash value and the cash surrender value. The surrender value is the cash value minus fees and charges, and the outstanding loan balance, including accrued loan interest, reduces it.
  • A full surrender ends the coverage: you generally receive most or all of the accumulated cash value instead of a death benefit. That payout may be subject to surrender fees and federal income tax, and any unpaid premiums are also collected.
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    Surrendering while a loan is outstanding can create taxable income if the loan plus the surrender value is more than the premiums paid.

  • A partial withdrawal (partial surrender) or a policy loan keeps the coverage but reduces the cash value and the death benefit, and a loan not repaid is usually deducted from what beneficiaries receive.
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    The company's service forms page offers a Policy Loan Request and a Partial Withdrawal Request form. The partial withdrawal form sets minimum amounts and a processing fee for some partial surrenders, so read it before you send it.

  • Service forms for traditional life insurance, annuities and fixed deferred annuities go to New York Life Insurance Company, Cleveland Service Center, P.O. Box 6916, Cleveland, OH 44101, or by fax to (800) 278-4117. If you cannot find the cash value or surrender value on your statement, the company's guidance is to ask New York Life or your agent.

If the company does not resolve it. Put the problem in writing and keep the policy number, dates and the names of the people you spoke with. If a claim is denied, ask for the decision and the reason in writing. Then:

  • File a complaint with the insurance department of the state where you live; it regulates the insurer's claims and sales practices there. The NAIC lists every state insurance department, with contact details and complaint links, at content.naic.org/state-insurance-departments.
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    New York's Department of Financial Services takes complaints about insurers through its online Consumer Complaint application and may share the complaint with the company.

  • If the coverage came through an employer, the plan is usually governed by the federal ERISA law. Under the U.S. Department of Labor's claims rule, a denial notice must give the specific reasons and describe the plan's appeal procedure, and the plan must allow at least 60 days to appeal (at least 180 days for a disability claim). File the appeal within the deadline in your denial letter. The Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration answers questions at 1-866-444-3272.
  • For mutual funds or other securities bought through NYLIFE Securities LLC, use FINRA's online File a Complaint form; FINRA says to contact the firm first.
  • You can also file with BBB, which forwards complaints to the company, or with your state attorney general's consumer protection office.
  • If a premium charge on a credit card is a billing error, such as a double charge, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute it with the card issuer: the FTC says to send a letter that reaches the issuer within 60 days after the first bill with the error was sent to you. This process covers billing errors only, not a disagreement about policy terms, a lapse or a surrender value.
  • For a check or letter that uses the New York Life name but that you did not expect, call the company's fraud hotline at 1-877-279-0325 and report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
EDITORIAL

Regulator and FINRA actions naming New York Life entities

New York DFS, 2021 (NYLIAC). A consent order signed by NYLIAC in February 2021 and approved by the Superintendent of Financial Services on March 1, 2021, recites DFS findings that, between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2018, NYLIAC issued immediate annuities to replace consumers' deferred annuities without obtaining or giving enough annuitization income information, and did not adequately train or supervise agents on suitability and disclosure under New York Regulations 60 and 187. NYLIAC agreed to pay a civil monetary penalty of $5,529,000, and the order provides for a third-party administrator's review of the replacement contracts and for notices, checks or increased payments to affected contract holders. The order says DFS will take no further action on the replacements if NYLIAC complies.

Multistate unclaimed property agreement, 2013. A Global Resolution Agreement resolved an unclaimed property audit of New York Life Insurance Company, NYLIAC and NYLIFE Insurance Company of Arizona, conducted by Verus Financial LLC for participating states, with California and Massachusetts as lead signatory states. Under its section 2.A, the agreement takes effect on the date the auditor notifies all parties that it has been signed by two-thirds of the participating states, including both lead states. It sets procedures for locating beneficiaries and reporting unclaimed proceeds. The agreement states that the company denies any wrongdoing or liability and that nothing in it is an admission.

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FINRA and state securities regulators, NYLIFE Securities LLC. FINRA's BrokerCheck report for the firm (CRD 5167) lists 13 regulatory events and 7 arbitrations as disclosures; BrokerCheck notes that its reports can include allegations that were contested, unresolved or settled without a finding of wrongdoing. The two most recent are FINRA settlements:

  • On November 20, 2019, a FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) censured the firm, fined it $250,000, ordered about $76,643 in restitution plus interest and required an offer of rescission, for failing to enforce its written procedures for supervising the suitability of sales of higher-risk mutual funds. The same disclosure records that, before any regulator stepped in, the firm voluntarily paid $1.1 million in restitution to 21 customers who had complained and added staff to review surveillance alerts.
  • On October 25, 2021, another AWC censured the firm, fined it $200,000 and ordered $63,347 in restitution over its supervision of mutual fund and cross-product switches. The disclosure states that the firm has since voluntarily enhanced its procedures and controls and ran lookback reviews of past switching.

In both, the firm neither admitted nor denied the findings. The other 11 events are earlier settlements and orders: with state securities regulators in Maine (2019, $50,000 fine), New Hampshire (2017), Indiana (2017, $200,000 civil penalty) and Massachusetts (2015, $25,000 fine plus restitution); with NASD, FINRA's predecessor, from 2004 to 2007, including a $354,000 fine in 2007 and a $150,000 fine in 2006; and older actions by the SEC (1998), Florida (1993) and Alabama (1989). Some of these predate the 2007 formation of the current limited liability company; the 2006 action names NYLIFE Securities Inc.

EDITORIAL

Court record: California lapse-notice class action

Court records

Linhart v. New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (9th Cir. No. 25-490). A policyholder's widow sued in the Central District of California as a proposed class representative, alleging that the insurer did not send the lapse-notice designation form that California Insurance Code section 10113.72(a) requires for policies issued before 2013. The district court granted summary judgment to NYLIAC and denied class certification. On September 22, 2026 the Ninth Circuit affirmed in a published opinion, holding that the requirement applies only to new policies issued on or after January 1, 2013, so no form was owed on a 2007 policy. The opinion notes that NYLIAC had sent the policyholder annual summaries describing his right to name someone to receive lapse notices and had mailed a grace-period notice before the lapse. The ruling concerns only whether section 10113.72(a) applied to a policy issued before 2013.

PUBLIC RECORD

Court & Public Records

Linhart v. New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation

Appeal decided

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitDocket 25-490Source ↗

Appeal decided

Decided on appeal: affirmed. In a published opinion filed September 22, 2026, the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (NYLIAC) and the denial of class certification in a proposed class action from the Central District of California (No. 5:21-cv-01640).

The suit was brought by the widow and sole beneficiary of a policyholder whose life insurance policy was issued in 2007. According to the opinion, the policy entered a grace period in June 2021 because its account value could not cover the monthly charges; NYLIAC mailed a notice of the payment needed by August 3, 2021, and the policy lapsed on that date. The policyholder died four days later, and the insurer declined the claim because the policy had lapsed. The opinion also notes that NYLIAC sent the policyholder annual policy summaries describing his right to name a third party to receive lapse notices, which he did not use. The suit alleged that NYLIAC did not give owners of policies issued before 2013 a standalone form for naming such a person, as California Insurance Code section 10113.72(a) requires. Following the California Supreme Court's decision in McHugh v. Protective Life Ins. Co., the Ninth Circuit held that section 10113.72(a) applies only to new policies, so no form was owed on this 2007 policy. The opinion lists New York Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of North America and New York Life Insurance Company of Arizona as defendants and New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation as the appellee.

EDITORIAL

Who New York Life is and which company issues which product

The company. New York Life Insurance Company is headquartered at 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010. The company says it has operated since 1845 as a mutual company, meaning it has no shareholders, and describes itself as the largest mutual life insurer in the U.S. Its website lists term, whole, universal and variable universal life insurance, long-term care and individual disability insurance, annuities, mutual funds and 529 plans.

Check the name on your contract. Products are issued by different legal entities. New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (NYLIAC) is, according to the New York Department of Financial Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, licensed in the District of Columbia and fifty states, and its principal products in 2011 to 2018 were fixed and variable annuities. The company's death-benefit FAQ names both New York Life Insurance Company and NYLIAC at the same Madison Avenue address. The Ninth Circuit's 2026 opinion in a California case also names New York Life Insurance Company of Arizona and Life Insurance Company of North America. Securities and brokerage services are offered through NYLIFE Securities LLC, a separate FINRA member firm.

More company historyShow less

Agents. The DFS consent order states that career agents, independent broker-dealer firms, independent agents and financial institutions market NYLIAC's products. A question about how a policy was sold can go to the selling agent and to customer service. Keep copies of the policy illustration and the application you signed.

VERIFIED

Company Relationships

  • Affiliated withNew York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation
  • Affiliated withNYLIFE Securities LLC
EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the New York Life customer service phone number?

New York Life lists 1 (800) 225-5695 (1 (800) CALL-NYL) for questions about a policy, claim or application, Monday through Friday, 8am to 7pm ET, and 1 (212) 576-6600 as a toll number alternative. Variable life and variable annuity policies use 1 (800) 598-2019, 9am to 6pm ET, according to the company's death-benefit FAQ.

How do I file a New York Life death claim?

Report the death on the company's Start a claim page, or call (800) CALL-NYL and say "Claims." To use mail, send the completed life insurance or annuity beneficiary form with a certified original death certificate (a copy is accepted for annuity claims and for life claims of $100,000 or less in total) to New York Life Claims & Benefits, PO Box 130539, Dallas, TX 75313-0539. After a claim is submitted the company says it contacts the beneficiary directly if it needs more details.

What death certificate does New York Life require?

The company's FAQ says only one original certified death certificate is needed per claim even with several beneficiaries, and that a copy is acceptable for all annuity claims and for life claims of $100,000 or less in total. A certified original has a raised seal or a multicolored signature seal from the county, city or state. For a minor beneficiary, payment goes to an authorized representative such as a custodian or court-appointed guardian.

Does New York Life pay interest on a life insurance claim?

The company's FAQ states that interest is paid on most life insurance claims from the date of death until the date the claim is paid, and that variable annuity death proceeds do not pay interest. It also states that death benefit proceeds are generally not taxable while interest paid is subject to federal and state tax, and that neither the company nor its agents give tax or legal advice.

How do I find a lost New York Life policy?

Use the Lost Policy option on the company's lost-policy page or call the claims specialist line at 1 (800) 695-9873 with the deceased person's name, last known address, date of birth and date of death. You can also submit a request to the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator, which is free; a participating insurer that finds a policy contacts the beneficiary directly. The same company page links to a state unclaimed funds lookup for benefits that were turned over to a state.

How do I complain about New York Life to a regulator?

Write to the company first and, for a denied claim, ask for the decision and the reason in writing. Then file with the insurance department of the state where you live, which oversees insurers' claims and sales practices; the NAIC lists every state department at content.naic.org/state-insurance-departments. For coverage through an employer, follow the appeal procedure and deadline in the denial letter first; the U.S. Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration answers questions about employer plans at 1-866-444-3272. New York's Department of Financial Services has an online Consumer Complaint application for complaints about insurance companies. For mutual funds or other securities bought through NYLIFE Securities LLC, FINRA takes complaints through its online File a Complaint form, and the firm's BrokerCheck report lists its regulatory disclosures.

What should I do about an unexpected check that carries the New York Life name?

The FTC says that in a fake check fraud a person you do not know asks you to deposit a check, and that a check can appear to clear and still be fake for weeks. New York Life lists a fraud hotline at 1-877-279-0325, and reports can be made to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

What have regulators found about New York Life?

In a 2021 consent order, New York's DFS found that New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation failed to give consumers enough information when replacing deferred annuities with immediate annuities from 2011 through 2018, and agreed to pay a $5,529,000 penalty. NYLIFE Securities LLC's BrokerCheck report lists 13 regulatory events; the most recent are FINRA settlements with a $250,000 fine in 2019 and a $200,000 fine in 2021, in which the firm neither admitted nor denied the findings, and the others include earlier state securities and NASD settlements. A 2013 multistate unclaimed property agreement states that the company denies wrongdoing.

CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Related Complaints

Names this company in a role other than the primary subject — not necessarily current or complete.