Sales of NY Life policies grow at record pace

New York Life Insurance Co.'s life insurance sales broke records over the first nine months of 2009, the insurer reported today. Life insurance sales by the company's career agents rose 8% year-to-date through September, compared to the comparable period in 2008, according to a company announcement. That breaks the previous record for sales growth in a nine-month period. Gains in product sales were driven by permanent and term insurance. New York Life's results contrast with what's been going on throughout most of the industry this year. Though third-quarter data for industrywide life insurance sales haven't been released by LIMRA International Inc. yet, data for the first half of the year showed that life products were moving slowly. In the first six months of 2009, sales of individual life insurance were down 23% compared to the 2008 period, according to LIMRA. Sales of variable life insurance were down 72% through the end of June. Whole life sales remained relatively unscathed with a 4% fall in sales. New York Life also reported a gain in new agent recruitment, up 9% for the first nine months of the year, compared with the comparable period of last year.