New York Life
Reviews and Complaints

When I did not go ahead with finalizing an interview for a policy and never made an apt with their nurse, for my daughter, the company already cashed my check for $687.69!.
I was promised to be reimbursed within 14 days
I was sent a letter by dake hubbard (total jerk) stating that I would have the money electronically put back into my checking account
I had the salesman tell me that a check was being sent out as we texted each other
Both lied
It has been over a month now going on 7 weeks since they took my money!
Pinhead hubbard refuses to answer the 4 messages that I have left on his phoneline!
The salesman blames the delay on someone else
Today is march 1 and I still have not received my refund!
They take your money and they will not give it back
Next step is legal action and I will be asking for reimburement of all my legal fees to recover my money

4687.69.

First of All, I have been with NYL for 14 years and cannot be more proud to be with a company that supports its agents. New York Life is not out there scamming any one. I have been blessed to have helped close to 2300 of my clients in all areas from insurance, retirement, college, and business succession planning. I have delivered checks vital to protecting families after they lost someone significant to their family. We help protect against secondary losses. The people who complain in this board should go visit a bereavement center to find out what happens to all these families that are grieving and did not have life insurance. The severe impact they have for the REST of their life. All of you that complain why you don't make it because you did not put in the effort and feel NYL is responsible for your failure should feel ashamed. NYL is not there to give you charity payment to not work. You are hired to be your OWN BUSINESS OWNER . NYL selects you and decides to put $170, 000 to develop you in three years to represent them. It is not 100% Straight Commission for there is subsidies, expense allowance, bonuses, residual income. Straight commission only means you get paid one time like a realtor or a mortgage broker. Now I make well into the mid six digit range and personally know three people in my office at NYL that make 7 digit incomes and it all comes from our hard work and reaching out people from all types of markets. This is from helping individuals from all income ranges, business owners, or wealth management/estate tax planning. If you are lucky enough to get an opportunity to work with NYL, you should be thrilled due to the positive impacts you can make on others by helping them build, protect, and preserve assets and the income opportunity it has for you and your family. By the way, I'm not just anyone on the street, I am a Rice University Graduate for all of you that says they are hiring just everyone. There is also no pyramid scheme where everyone shares your commissions like some of these comments I saw earlier. Evidently they don't know how to read a contract and therefore should not have made it to the last interview for discussion. Good Luck Everyone!

Don't work for this company. New York Life will use you to gain a few policy's, company does nothing for its new agents in regards to getting them leads. A lot of the partners in the company were never agents themselves... how can you have somebody that never worked as an agent themselves come and try to train people to be agents. Company will make you work a 12 hour day commute an hour and not get home til late in the evening all for them to tell you that the policy is declined and they are taking back your pay. Don't expect a base salary from this company they don't care if you worked a 40 to 50 hour week without compensating you for all the rejection you have to deal with on their behalf. Grimy Company, Grimy Greedy people running it that spend their meetings talking to you about how great they are when this is valuable work time. Meetings are roughly 10 hrs a week for your first year. The first interview you have with them they tell you we expect you to fail. What does that say about the people managing it. The only reason they are allowed to get away with what they do is due to the fact that they are under an agency system which means the company will allow you to work without a pay and not care. Underwriting Department is a total disgrace filled with a bunch of ugly people that will hold up your cases for months to the point where clients don't want to deal with you anymore. I wouldn't call this a 95% percent failure rate " in their terms ", it is 95% of people leave because they don't like working for crooks that treat their employees like slaves for their own benefit. Don't ever work here.

My mother passed away august 14.2025, I submitted the claim form etc ...one month later they are waiting on paperwork from hospital... I called hospital records they informed me they submitted all paperwork requested. I still have not heard from them. Though my mom passed within the contestable period she didn't die of a pre existing condition. I think I'll get an attorney, because several people have told me they are scammers.

My mentally and physically disabled husband was scammed of his life savings by one John Wilbanks, who "blesses me with God". My husband entered into a contract with Alcor Cryopreservation. He was catastrophically ill, and therefore the contract is null and void. He is also buried, so they scammed his life savings to be cryopreserved, and he is buried. He has been in the ground since June 15, 2015, so he cannot even be "cryopreserved", so the "contract" is triply invalid and fake. Mr. Willbanks has been "sending the check in the mail" for going on three months. He also took the check from New York Life, to go to me as his widow, yet he has pocketed the check.

Steer Clear of this company New York Life Greater Oregon Agency. Over the course of 5 years I have seen abusive behaviors as it relates to agents and clients in terms of manipulation and intimidation. Blake McKinney has demonstrated on various scales of just how incompetent he truly is in managing an agency and being in a leadership position. In the time I have been able to recognize his behaviors that caused damage to both agents reputations, and clients understanding of what they are purchasing when it comes to life insurance and or annuities.

Blake McKinney believes through causing financial hardship, intimidation and harassment he can get utter control over agents with out consequence or causing himself damage. Apparently, Blake McKinney has burned through his recent batch of agents and is now back on the prowl again to recruit more agents through 'Mass Mailings' to licensed agents. If you have done your do diligence and have been reading this complaint and have 'Googled' New York Life Complaints you will begin to see a picture being painted about this guy and his agency. In order to run an agency you need to have integrity which Blake McKinney is severely lacking because he likes to: falsify untrue statements about individuals by tainting licenses; sending unsubstantiated bills to agents after they resign; intimidation agents to resign to avoid unemployment claims against New York Life; amplifying situations by using local authorities to harass agents; using intimidation to get agents to falsify information about agents that my be unraveling his overall scams and tactics.

Folks if your looking for an opportunity look to other insurance companies to become truly independent without working for anyone company. If you work for one company your stay will be short and you will lose moral. The last thing you want to do is work with a company like New York Life, and have to apologize for working for this company. Blake McKinney will make you look like a jerk to anyone and everyone you've every done business with if you confront the BS and standup for yourself, and from what I have seen everyone eventually becomes a victim when they leave his office. Clients spare your money and your time, and whatever you do demand an illustration from your agents when it comes to Universal Life Policies; and run from an agent that sells you a 1 year annual renewal policy. Not that it's a bad policy but you need to ask what the intentions are, because if you are not planning on converting your policy within a year your wasting your time and money. Avoid agents that don't show the illustrations on Universal Life and are telling you to pay the minimum amounts, the agent may have intentions for maximizing their own commissions and the policy will and can crash. Good luck to any ### that works for this jerk!

I was contacted by a recruiter and by the general manager. After through a series of employment verifications, I was hired as an agent, being promised by the general manager who reviewed New York Life documentation that I would earn $125k per year following the model (as was the same with many other new agents).

After 9 months as an agent, New York Life had found a way to continually charge me as an agent for more and more office space charges, additional licensing that wasn't needed, and I ended up owing New York Life more than I had made. I had to load their software giving the company FULL access to everything on that computer (so I purchased a computer solely dedicated to NYL).

I witnessed and/or experienced within the 9 months, management sexually harassing women, harassing gay agents which I reported and no investigation was done, spreading false poor financial information about agents that had resigned, and I personally had to endure a senior agent discriminating against African American clients and prospects, with the approval of management.

The managing partner and development manager required me to work on a case of a 90 year old man that had requested an agent. I resigned in part because they were insisting that I find a way to move his $500, 000 life savings and investments into New York Life policies, without him having any representative present, which is illegal.

The general manager has manipulated my resignation to show a later day of resigning from the company, so they have added additional charges, client policy reversals, but will not pay commissions that came on, and adding over $500 of additional costs to my ledger 60 days after my resignation and threatening via letters with taking me to creditors. My repeated requests to meet with the new general manager have been refused, and one manager did his own investigation, responding with their verification of me now owing over $600, 90 days after I resigned.

In 1992, I purchased their 150K whole life insurance based on their overly optimistic estimate:
pay premium for 11 years and at 70 the death benefit is 272, 955
In 1996, the revised (still overly optimistic) estimate is like this:
pay premium for 14 years and at 70 the death benefit is 206, 102
In 2006, the revised (yet overly optimistic) estimate is like this:
pay premium for 17 years and at 70 the death benefit is 164, 474
This year, the revised (don't know what to say) estimate is like this:
pay premium for 20 years and at 70 the death benefit is 154, 766
Needless to say, I feel cheated. Is this a good product? For them, not me!

OK, enough for the destruction part, now the construction part.

Here I give you two examples of using the 1, 628 annual premium through out the same period.

1. Save the money for yourself by buying 30-year US Treauary bond.

1992: 1628 * (1+0.0729*20) = 4001

1993: 1628 * (1+0.0633*19) = 3585

1994: 1628 * (1+0.0756*18) = 3843

1995: 1628 * (1+0.06906*17) = 3539

1996: 1628 * (1+0.06768*16) = 3390

1997: 1628 * (1+0.06445*15) = 3201

1998: 1628 * (1+0.0559*14) = 2902

1999: 1628 * (1+0.06113*13) = 2921

2000: 1628 * (1+0.05688*12) = 2739

2001: 1628 * (1+0.05472*11) = 2607

2002: 1628 * (1+0.05472*10) = 2518 (reuse 2001 rate)

2003: 1628 * (1+0.05472*9) = 2429 (reuse 2001 rate)

2004: 1628 * (1+0.05472*8) = 2340 (reuse 2001 rate)

2005: 1628 * (1+0.05472*7) = 2251 (reuse 2001 rate)

2006: 1628 * (1+0.05039*6) = 2120

2007: 1628 * (1+0.05*5) = 2035

2008: 1628 * (1+0.04585*4) = 1926

2009: 1628 * (1+0.0448*3) = 1846

2010: 1628 * (1+0.0389*2) = 1754

2011: 1628 * (1+0.03629) = 1687

To simplify calculation, the interest earned from the bond remains in cash.

After 20 years, the total is 53, 634

Note that there is no death protection in this scheme.

2. Put 1, 200 into 30-year US Treauary bond and use remaining 428 to buy 30-year term life insurance.

I check the web: for 32-year old healthy male, 500K 30-year term: Prudential 415, MetLife 489

Plug 1, 200 to above formula and you get 41, 287 plus 500K protection for 30 years

Remark

* I choose US Treauary bond as example assuming it won't default

* You can verify the interest rate from http://www.treasurydirect.gov/RI/OFAuctions?form=ndnld&typese/c=bonds

* for consistent reason I use the avg rate reported in August

* some years no new bond is issued, so I use previous year rate

* Tax is NOT factored in

For comparison, my New York Life number for this year is: cash value 41, 846, death benefit 171, 680

Conclusion: if you need to have insurance coverage, either DIY i.e. follow example 2, or find an insurance company that can outperform it.
In another word, don't let insurance company just take your money, they have to earn it.

New York Life Not Reliable
to Give Correct Advice regarding Life Insurance and Death Benefit Process

I know nothing about insurance death or dying and ask customer service specialist or company agents for advice guiding me through the process of helping me help my Grandma prepare for death. I have a lot to juggle since I chose to be my grandma's power of attorney as in home care assistant. My Grandma died peacefully and comfortably in my home Sept 20 2010 2:16 am. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Rose Room Hospice I was able to get all of Grandma's end of life paperwork and made the necessary arrangements to have new York life pay for her funeral costs so I could feel comfortable that when the time came that I wouldn’t have any problem or hassles’ with grammas burial. I was instructed to call New York life and make sure my everything was in order and to let them know that grandma's death benefit would be utilized to pay for her funeral cost. Again, I will state that I do not know anything about the process of arranging life insurance to pay for funeral cost and so I asked the funeral home what they would need as well as ask New York Life respective what I would need to do to make sure that my Grandma's Policy would go to the funeral home that I request. I stated that the I had already chose a funeral home and they said they would need a copy of the policy which one be sent to me since I did not have a copy of one. I ask if all information was correct and show me as someone who could assign my grandmothers policy. The representative stated that she would be a send me a copy of something as well as a form the funeral home could utilize in order to bill them for the service rendered. I ask they need to send that directly to the funeral home because they were already aware that I was using my Grandma's NY life insurance Policy for their service. I stated I wanted to make sure everything was done now so i wouldn’t have the additional stresses of billing placing and paperwork when my Grandma passed away. I was assured that she was sending me what I needed to give the funeral home and it was unnecessary for her to send anything to them specifically at this time. I also asked if there was anything else I need to do to insure this process went smoothly. I was assured I was properly documented to destitute my grandmas benefits.

My Grandma died yesterday and they funeral home came prominently as arranged I was told that I would complete the paperwork for death cert ect when I came to the funeral home and that it was customary to give me a day to two to morn before I had to finalize my Grandma's Death.
I was able to cope with the loss of my Grandma the phone calls to relatives and felt secure in the fact I prearrange all of grandma's end of life needs.

Until I was told by the funeral home that New York Life did not recognized them as a designated payee of her policy or myself as authorized individual to direct my grandmas end of life benefits’. I have no other money. I relied upon new York to pay them the amount of what the costs were when Grandma's Death occurred. I am now suck speaking to new York life representatives who's goal is to try and tell me how i did not request to be a beneficiary and even and they had no record that the funeral home i choose was a beneficiary. I said state there must be some mistake. I called I made sure I had everything in place prior to her death. That stated the forms I should have signed the changes I should have made were not on file. I was confused I was sure that I had asked that very question to the last agent I spoke to. I gave her all the information I had and change the mailing addresses. I told her I need to make sure everything was correct because I did not have an copy of the policy, I was assured they had my power of attorney on file and that all my request were taken care of.

Apparently when new York life assures you that your policies will be paid you better make sure you get an immediate written confirmation from them stating that they promise that they really do have all the forms and all the paperwork properly fill out filed as per the conversation or you are out of luck.

I don’t have the money to even my Grandma and I have one day to figure out how I am able to pay or I start getting fined storage charges for grandma's body until new York life decides who is the living beneficiary of the policy.

Single, childless woman charges that New York Life Insurance agent and documentation at fault in sale of “unsuitable” Variable Annuity with a Guaranteed Death Benefit with the blessing of the Washington State Insurance Commissioners Office.

According to the St of WA Office of the Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler:
Even though this policy did not provide a minimum guaranteed fixed interest rate, it is perfectly acceptable for New York Life Insurance to state in the Policy: “Minimum Guaranteed Fixed Interest Rate: 3%.” The policy holder should have known that this was an Option explained elsewhere.

According to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler:
It is perfectly acceptable for the Guaranteed Death Benefit feature and its costs to be excluded from the Policy because it is covered in the Prospectus. The consumer should have known that this feature and its costs referred to as "Mortality and Expense Risk" were part of what was purchased by reading about them in the Prospectus.

According to the Office of Mike Kreidler:
It is perfectly acceptable that the “Free Look Provision” (the 10 days you have to cancel with no penalty) only refers to the reviewing the policy and does not inform the consumer that the policy is not a complete or exclusive description of the products purchased and their related costs. The consumer should know that key information is only contained in the Prospectus.

According to the Office of Mike Kreidler:
It is perfectly acceptable for the consumer to be required to refer to both the Prospectus and the Policy to determine the products, features, and costs of products being purchased.

Additionally, when an Agent meets with a customer, they review the parts of the prospectus that apply to the annuity(ies) and features they are recommending. However, the customer is asked to sign a Client Profile that states, “I/We have read and understood the prospectus and above disclosure …..” This information is then used against the consumer in the event of a dispute.

I have been fighting this for over a year and a half and they all still maintain that (1) any misunderstanding of their documentation is the sole responsibility of the consumer; (2) they are convinced that consumers can read and understand the documentation independent of an Agent; (3) the documents from New York Life clearly specify the products and related costs being purchased.

Am I alone in thinking that they are placing an unfair burden on the consumer to understand industry specific terms and concepts spread across three documents totally over 100 pages? Is it too much to ask for a summary of what you bought and what it cost?

Am I alone in thinking that you need an agent to translate: “The charge equals 1.60% (annualized) of the daily average Variable Accumulative Value for the New York Life Premium Plus Variable Annuity and 1.75% (annualized) of the daily average Variable Accumulative Value for the New York Life Premium Plus II Variable Annuity” (From Page 12 of the Prospectus explaining Mortality & Risk Expense that I was supposed to know was part of the Guaranteed Death Benefit included in my purchase but left out of the Policy.)

It really shouldn’t matter that New York Life and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner don’t think the documentation is incomprehensible. It should matter what consumers believe.

NY life is a very dishonest company. Do not give them any of your time or money. I have had nothing but problems with them. from the local agents to the headquarters, no one within the company will reveal any info, any direct questions, or put you in touch when any form of real authority to resolve any kind of issue. they miscategorized my rating, took 3 monthes to recognize it, renigged on the re evaluation and charged me the whole time. they wont refund dime one of my money "because I was insured the whole time". I get official NYLife letters with NO DATE, NO POSTMARK and NO SPECIFIC INFO - and I mean NONE. any phone number they put it takes days to get someone to answer it and then everything has to go through the head office underwriting of which you cannot contact diretly. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM... NOTHING its up to the state commissionor now. advise to anyone that is going to complain to NYLife, get a phone recorder and log everything every day. you wont beleive what these guys will put you through. they mentally wear you out by switching supervisors and making you retell the story because "they havent heard that yet".

I was contacted by a recruiter after submitting my resume through my university job placement website. I couldn't imagine our academic institutions would actually participate in such an outrageous rip-off scheme.

First of all, it took them 4 interviews and 2 'workshops' to finally get to the point. After all that waste of my time, I found out that the company doesn't offer a salary. It actually wants their employees to pay for their cubicle, phone line and 'technology use'.

There was some sort of BS about generous bonus system and extremely complicated corporate expense account, which could be used later on to cover your operating expenses. Of course the money for that account would be allocated 'based on your sales performance'.

Basically to break even, you needed to sell at least 6 policies ($1200) per week and that 'average' sales effort would supposedly yield about 40K per year. If you do less than that you wouldn't meet the quota and get no bonuses or any other goodies that they promise.

Oh, yes and fulltime employee status only comes after selling a certain number of insurance policies and then in 3 to 4 months all the other benefits(health, life, dental) will 'kick in'

Bottom line: to sell their insurance you'd have to pay their rent, buy their computers, devote 75hours per week of your time 'on average', and have passion for getting screwed.