Life insurance in New York

How your policy is protected if an insurer fails

New York's safety net is the Life & Health Insurance Company Guaranty Corporation of New York, created by the legislature in 1985. New York is one of six jurisdictions that protect life insurance death benefits up to $500,000, according to NOLHGA, and it applies a single $500,000 cap across almost every kind of individual coverage. If a member insurer becomes impaired or insolvent, the Guaranty Corporation continues coverage for New York residents, usually by moving policies to a healthy insurer, and pays covered claims up to the limits. Keep paying premiums so your policy stays in force.

Limits are as of October 4, 2026, from the Guaranty Corporation's FAQ. The $500,000 cap applies to all the listed benefits combined, per life, per failed company: three $200,000 annuities with the same insurer are protected for $500,000. Spouses who each own an annuity are each covered separately, but a jointly owned annuity is treated as having a single owner. For income annuities paid over two lives, such as joint and survivor annuities, each annuitant gets a coverage level. Group life and group health coverage is continued for 180 days after the liquidation order, which can be extended in some circumstances. A 2023 law expanded coverage to health insurance issued by health insurers, including long-term care, within the statutory limits.

If you bought a policy while living in New York from a company licensed here, you may keep New York protection after moving, coordinated with your new state's association. The Guaranty Corporation is a private entity, not a state agency, and New York law prohibits agents and companies from using it in advertising or as an inducement to buy. It is no substitute for choosing a financially stable insurer. See state life and health guaranty associations and what happens if your life insurance company fails.

Who regulates life insurance in New York

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) regulates insurers, banks and other financial companies. Its consumer complaint line is 800-342-3736 toll-free (212-480-6400), and most complaints are filed through the DFS online portal.

Free look, grace periods and policy rules

• Free look: individual life policies carry at least a 10-day free look (11 NYCRR 53-2.1). A policy or annuity that replaces existing coverage can be returned within 60 days (11 NYCRR 51.6), according to the NAIC's state chart of life insurance disclosure rules. See the free-look period: returning a policy for a refund.
• Grace period: Insurance Law §3203 requires a grace period of 31 days, or one month, during which the policy stays in force. The same section makes a policy incontestable after two years and allows reinstatement within three years of default.
• Interest on claims: under Insurance Law §3214(c), interest on life insurance proceeds runs from the date of death until payment.

Taxes, estates and community property

New York has an estate tax but no inheritance tax. The basic exclusion amount for deaths from January 1 through December 31, 2026 is $7,350,000 (it was $7,160,000 in 2025), according to the Department of Taxation and Finance. A resident's estate must file a New York return if the federal gross estate plus certain gifts exceeds that amount. Because the state exclusion is less than half the $15,000,000 federal figure, a policy you own can push a New York estate into state tax even when no federal tax is due; an irrevocable life insurance trust is the usual way to keep proceeds out. Talk to an estate attorney, and see state estate and inheritance taxes and life insurance.

New York is not a community property state.

Finding a lost policy or unclaimed benefits

The Guaranty Corporation will help with an old or lost policy from a company that may have been licensed in New York (212-202-4243). Also use the free NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator and check bank statements and mail for premium payments. Unclaimed benefits are eventually turned over to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, which runs the state's Unclaimed Funds search. If the insured lived or worked in New Jersey, Connecticut or Pennsylvania, search those states as well. See how to find a lost life insurance policy and unclaimed life insurance money and state unclaimed property.

Life insurers based in New York

New York City is home to several of the largest U.S. life insurers: New York Life, MetLife, Guardian Life, TIAA and Equitable. Security Mutual Life of New York is based in Binghamton.

Where to get help

• New York State Department of Financial Services: 800-342-3736, dfs.ny.gov, One State Street, New York, NY 10004-1151. File through the DFS complaint page, and see our guide to how to file a complaint against a life insurer.
• Life & Health Insurance Company Guaranty Corporation of New York: 212-202-4243, nylifega.org, 217 North Highland Avenue, Suite 3202, Ossining, NY 10562.
• Unclaimed funds: the State Comptroller's Unclaimed Funds search.