What is a Mutual Insurance Company?

A mutual insurance company is one that doesn't have shareholders.

And that little difference has big implications for the way the company delivers on its promises and commitments.

What's the Difference Between a Mutual Insurer and a Publicly Traded Insurer?

See, every life insurance company has a long-term promise to its policyholders to be financially strong when they need it.

But, publicly traded insurance companies also must satisfy their shareholders.

What are the advantages of mutual insurers?

As a result, their timeframe for success is often much shorter than that of a mutual company.

This can encourage them to pursue aggressive strategies to quickly bolster their stock price and provide investors with immediate returns.

New York Life believes this undercuts the financial strength of the institution. In fact, during the 2008 and 2009 recession, every major publicly owned life insurance company in the U.S. suffered one or more downgrades in their financial strength ratings.

But in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, New York Life continues to enjoy the highest possible ratings from the four major ratings agencies for financial strength.

New York Life's Guarantee is based in mutuality.

New York Life believes that insurance is a long-term business requiring long-term perspective and decision-making, a discipline not to be compromised by the short-term outlook of Wall Street.

It is this management philosophy that has shielded our policyholders from some of the recent volatility in the markets, allowing us to deliver on our promises and commitments.

For this reason. New York Life is committed to remaining mutual — because Guarantees Matter.