Life Insurance Facts & Figures

Life Insurance Companies in New York

-- There are 135 life insurers licensed to do business in New York State and 81 are domiciled in the state.
-- There were over 30,000 New York residents who are employed directly by life insurance companies in 2010. Approximately 75,000 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 2010, life insurance companies invested approximately $375 billion of their assets in New York's economy.
-- Of that, the largest proportion, $313 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 $21 billion in mortgage loans on farm, residential and commercial properties and owned $990 million in real property in New York.

New York Residents Covered

-- New York residents owned 8 million individual life insurance policies in 2010, with coverage averaging $163,000 per policyholder.
-- Individual life insurance coverage purchased in 2010 in New York totaled $130 billion.
-- In 2010, New York residents had $2 trillion in death benefit coverage.
-- Group life insurance coverage amounted to $635 billion in New York in 2010.

Benefits to Policyholders and Beneficiaries

-- In 2010, New Yorkers received approximately $24 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.

Across America

-- 75 million American families depend on life insurance industry products to protect their financial and retirement security.
-- The life insurance industry generates approximately 2.5 million jobs in the U.S., including direct employees, those who sell life insurance products, and non-insurance jobs supported by the industry.
-- 20 percent of American's long-term savings is in life insurance and annuities.  These savings are key to the protection and guarantees these products provide.
-- In 2010, life insurers provided payments in excess of $557 billion, helping families guarantee long-term financial security now and in retirement.
-- With 90 percent of the industry's $5.3 trillion assets 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 single source of bond financing for American business, holding 18 percent of all U.S. corporate bonds.