New York Life Insurance Co. joined two other life insurers Tuesday with the highest rating, Aaa, from Moody's Investors Service.
The company's principal subsidiary, New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corp., was also upgraded to Aaa. The parent manages $215 billion of assets, has $25 billion of annual revenue, and boasts $13 billion of surplus.
The Standard & Poor's rating agency gives New York Life an AA-plus rating, its second-highest, and sees a "positive outlook" for the company. New York Life said it expects an upgrading from S&P by mid-2006.
A Moody's analyst said it was the first time in his company's history that an insurer had lost a triple-A rating and then reclaimed it. New York Life lost the rating in 1996, he said.
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America are the other insurers with Aaa ratings.
