What Do Home Run Hitters Hit? Homers.

In a season that will have a 21st Century Murderers’ Row coming off the Yankee bench (Stanton, Judge, Sanchez and the rest), Hank Greenberg has managed to make his way onto the line up card. Starr Companies, a his global insurance and investment organization, has entered into a multi-year sponsorship agreement with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. This sponsorship names Starr Companies as the Official Commercial Insurance Company of the New York Yankees starting with the 2018 regular season. Former Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent, remembered for the home run that helped drive the Yankees to their 1978 championship with a crushing win over the Red Sox, joined Mr. Greenberg in kicking off the sponsorship at an employee reception held on March 12th. Fans will see Starr Companies’ branding throughout the regular season on a billboard on Yankee Stadium’s right centerfield scoreboard, on in-stadium TVs, on the Terrace level LED boards, as well as when entering the stadium by the Great Hall. Additionally, Starr will have full-page advertisement within each issue of Yankees Magazine. In addition, during the 2019 season, Starr Companies will also celebrate its 100th anniversary in China milestone during a future Yankees game. “We are proud to be the Official Commercial Insurance Company and a sponsor of the New York Yankees,” stated Maurice R. Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer. “It’s an honor to partner with one of the most trusted and respected franchises in professional sports and an iconic New York institution.” Bryan Calka, vice president of partnerships for the New York Yankees, said: “We are excited to partner with such a prestigious company and are looking forward to many years of mutual success.” Hank Greenberg hits the long ball, supporting the team, its fans and a great New York tradition……. Speaking of the long ball and great New York teams, following a record-breaking 2016, New York Life reached a new company high for operating earnings, insurance and annuity sales, assets under management, and surplus, now paying the largest dividend payout in company’s history. Company records were also achieved in the metrics that directly capture the value New York Life delivers to its policy owners: dividends and benefits paid to eligible policy owners and beneficiaries. In November 2017, New York Life announced the largest dividend payout in the company’s history, up 36 percent since 2012.In an important part of the announcement, the Company credited its agency force:

“The company’s outstanding bottom line results were driven by company records in a number of top line measures, none more important than sales of life insurance. New York Life achieved its 21st consecutive year of growth in life insurance sales in 2017, with sales through New York Life agents up 4 percent over the prior year,”.

John Kim, president of New York Life, said, adding:  “Personal guidance, delivered by the dedicated and diverse agents of New York Life, remains at the heart of our business model. At the same time, the company continues to invest in digital capabilities to enhance the service our field force provides. We applaud the outstanding commitment of our 12,000 professional agents, who day after day help people make the important decisions needed to achieve financial security. These results again validate New York Life’s business strategy, which pairs our market-leading life insurance and agency franchise with a diverse set of supporting businesses, all aligned with the interests of our policy owners,” Ted Mathas chairman and CEO of New York Life noted. “While markets fluctuate, our time-tested approach has enabled New York Life to consistently grow the value we deliver to policy owners year over year while continuing to provide peace of mind to the families and businesses who rely on us.”

Record Surplus Continues to Drive Unsurpassed Financial Strength Ratings

New York Life is in the enviable position of declaring all-time company highs in both dividend payout and surplus, and remains one of only two companies out of more than 900 in the industry to receive the highest possible financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer by all four major financial rating agencies.

New York Life’s financial strength reflects the performance of the company’s insurance business, including strong investment results from its $242.5 billion general account portfolio despite a persistent low interest rate environment, and contributions from the company’s diverse set of businesses.  While these results also include a one-time $600 million reduction in surplus related to tax reform, the company expects that tax reform will positively impact its financial position over the long term.

Additional performance highlights as of December 31, 2017:

• Reached $2.06 billion in operating earnings[1] for 2017, the highest in the company’s history.

• Paid over $10.6 billion in total dividends and benefits to policy owners.

• Announced a dividend payout of $1.78 billion in 2018, a 36 percent increase since 2012.

• Grew surplus (including the asset valuation reserve) to $24 billion.

•Reported life insurance sales of over $1.3 billion and individual life insurance in force of $993 billion.

• Reached a record high in annuity sales of $13.8 billion.

•Reported a general account balance of $242.5 billion in cash and invested assets, and total assets under management of $586 billion.