New York Life to hire 3,750 agents in 2016, increase minority staffing
March 31, 2016 by IFAwebnews Staff
New York Life has announced that it intends to hire 3,750 insurance and financial professionals throughout 2016, with more than half expected to be women or individuals who represent cultural communities.
The company said that ongoing low interest rates and shareholder pressures challenge the ability of other insurers to invest in their agents, but that New York Life is not reacting to those challenges.
“We know that sustained, long-term investment in our agents is the best way to support their ability to help friends, families and neighbors achieve their financial goals,” said Mark Madgett, senior vice president and head of New York Life’s field force. “The success of our approach is proven in our consistent sales growth, which includes record life insurance sales in 2015, and a record amount of life insurance in force.”
According to the company, its agent force has grown 28% since 2007.
Among the company’s key hiring priorities in 2016 is to represent the diversity of the communities served by its more than 12,000 agents. In 2015, 69% of New York Life’s new hires in the field were women or individuals who represent the cultural markets, and the company will continue its focus on hiring and supporting women and individuals serving the African-American, Chinese, Korean Latino, South Asian, and Vietnamese communities in the United States.
According to the firm, insurance and financial professionals serving the cultural markets accounted for 51% of the company’s new life insurance sales in 2015.