Business continuity and recovery.


IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR VALUED CLIENTS.

Throughout our history, New York Life’s commitment to our clients has been paramount. We know we can only continue to fulfill our obligations as long as New York Life and its subsidiaries remain strong and vibrant, and able to protect your interests for the long term.

It is this philosophy that made it possible for us to continue our operations throughout the Civil War, after the huge San Francisco earthquake in 1906, and during numerous other events that have greatly impacted the nation over the years.

For this reason, we want to take this opportunity to inform you, our valued clients, about the steps we have taken to ensure that we will be able to continue our business operations, should a significant disruption occur in one of our business locations.

 

PLANNING TO STAY STRONG FOR THE FUTURE—OURS AND YOURS

New York Life and its subsidiaries including NYLIFE Securities Inc. (collectively, “the Company”) have developed a comprehensive approach to planning for any number of possible events. Our business continuity and recovery plans address a full range of possible scenarios, from firm only business disruptions or disruptions at a single building, to an event affecting a business district, a city, or even an entire region, such as during a major blackout. We have also established an “Incident Management Team” that consists of senior executives and subject matter experts from across the company, to oversee our operations and ensure leadership and decision-making in the event of any business disruption. In addition, we have a fully functional Corporate Command Center (CCC), which provides a location for our incident management staff to operate at full capacity, even if their normal business locations are not available.

As one of our valued clients, you'll be glad to know that the company’s Business Continuity and Recovery Plan covers the entire New York Life enterprise, including internal departments and direct and indirect subsidiaries, both domestic and international. Our business continuity efforts are intended to address a broad range of potentially disruptive events, including anticipated events (such as hurricanes and other forecasted natural disasters) and unanticipated events (such as power outages, floods, telecommunication outages, and even terrorist attacks).

 

BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND RECOVERY PLAN.

In addition to having a business continuity plan for the entire company, our individual business areas also have their own business continuity plans. The Business Continuity and Recovery Plan for NYLIFE Securities provides a structure and necessary operational details so that management, business, and technical areas can respond appropriately in the event of any disruption that could impact critical business functions.

We recognize that large business organizations such as New York Life must prioritize business operations in order to ensure that crucial operations continue or are recovered as quickly as possible during a significant interruption. Accordingly, all NYLIFE Securities operational areas have been classified based on their recovery time frame, and are recoverable at a remote recovery site, should a significant business disruption occur.

The NYLIFE Securities Business Continuity and Recovery Plan also provides specific, detailed steps for the recovery of all registered product business by:

  • Assisting in a timely and accurate assessment of any situation and identifying the potential impact on any critical business functions of the organization.
  • Establishing priorities for recovery of impacted critical business operations, and effectively allocating resources to the recovery effort.
  • Having procedures in place to recover supported critical business functions within a reasonable time frame.
  • Identifying the key individuals who will participate in any recovery and restoration processes.
  • Having procedures in place to restore normal operations as soon as possible.

 

ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS.

IN ADDITION TO PREPARING SPECIFIC PLANS TO ADDRESS A POSSIBLE DISRUPTION, WE HAVE ALSO TAKEN STEPS TO TEST OUR PLANS IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND EXECUTABLE.

  • Each year, business areas designated for recovery, including NYLIFE Securities, participate in tests that analyze the capacity for a full recovery, following the procedures as outlined in their respective Business Continuity and Recovery Plans.
  • Recovery sites that support trading and operations have the backup generator power to cover crucial systems and equipment.
  • To ensure that our systems and the data they contain are available for when we may need to recover them, all required network files and databases are backed up regularly and our backups are stored offsite, in a suitable and protected location.
  • Similarly, we have procedures in place so that any “vital records” that could be required for continuing business operations are backed up offsite and available for recovery operations.
  • Our plans also designate the supplies that we would need at recovery locations.
  • Our plans also provide for appropriate facilities to be in place to process customer checks and other financial transaction requests at our recovery location.
  • We have put procedures in place so that you should be able to access your account information via our website and/or automated telephone systems, even during a disruption. Should the automated information not be available for any reason, please be assured that any inaccessibility of the website or an automated telephone system will not impact your ability to access your available funds. In such an event, you can simply contact the appropriate service area or your NYLIFE Securities Registered Representative for information or service on your account.

 

OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR CLIENTS.

We have procedures in place to minimize the chances that any disruption will occur. We do recognize that if such an event does transpire, the business recovery and continuity phase at our recovery site may last for an indefinite period of time. In the event of a severe disruption, business recovery efforts may last until the time it takes for us to find suitable permanent space and equip it to support business operations. All procedures have been designed to minimize the amount of time we would be in recovery phase, and to ensure that we are back to normal operations as soon as possible.

As we have since 1845, New York Life remains committed to safeguarding your assets and ensuring your continued confidence during times of normal operations as well as periods of challenge and uncertainty.

If you have any questions regarding our Business Continuity and Recovery Plan, please contact the New York Life Insurance Company at (212) 576-7000. Please ask for The Business Resilience Department.