Is New York Life A Mutual Insurance Company? 
Yes , New York Life is a mutual company . Simply put a mutual company is not a publicly traded company in the stock market and does not have shareholders . The policy owners are like the shareholders of the company . Some policies for example , like a whole life policy , can even have a vote in how dividends can be distributed to policy owners . There are always plus and minus when it comes to mutual companies versus stock companies . I would recommend contacting an independent life insurance broker and weight the facts on both types of companies . 