New York Life Appoints Pfaff, Blunt to Run Key Operations

New York Life Insurance Company (New York) has appointed two industry veterans, Mark Pfaff and Chris Blunt, to run key operations.

New York Life Insurance Company will place its life insurance manufacturing and marketing operations under the direction of senior vice president Mark Pfaff, who has run the Agency Department since 2006.

In addition, New York Life Insurance Company said it has bolstered its retirement business. Senior Vice President Chris Blunt will run a new organization, Retirement Income Security (RIS), dedicated to providing solutions to consumers in both the accumulation and income phases of retirement. RIS brings together for the first time under a single executive, New York Life's income annuities, investment annuities, long-term care insurance, and the distribution of mutual funds. "With these organizational changes we are combining our number one product " life insurance " with our primary distribution system " career agents," said Ted Mathas, New York Life's president and CEO. "I expect the combination to grow the company, which benefits our policyholders over the long term, and bring numerous consumer benefits in the form of better product development, better marketing, and in the end, a better-protected public." Mr. Mathas noted that with these changes the four primary business operations of New York Life are: U.S. Life Insurance and Agency; Retirement Income Security; Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary with more than $235 billion in assets under management; and International, a wholly owned subsidiary with insurance operations in eight markets in Asia and Latin America. The U.S. life insurance operations being consolidated under Pfaff include the company's individual, bank- and corporate-owned life insurance, as well as its Group Membership Association Division, an underwriter of professional association insurance programs, and life insurance sold through an exclusive, endorsed program with AARP. Consolidated revenue is expected to be more than $8 billion in 2008. Agency has more than 10,500 licensed agents in the United States. Retirement Income Security (RIS) is expected to have consolidated revenue of more than $2 billion for 2008, including revenue from income annuities, investment annuities, long term care insurance and retail mutual funds.

Peggy Bresnick Kendler has been a writer for 30 years. She has worked as an editor, publicist and school district technology coordinator. During the past decade, Bresnick Kendler has worked for UBM TechWeb on special financialservices technology-centered ... View Full Bio