New York Life Data Breach Exposes Sensitive PHI and PII

New York Life Insurance Co., the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and the second-largest life insurance provider overall, disclosed a data breach that exposed sensitive personal, financial and medical information belonging to consumers.

The total number of individuals affected across the United States was not specified, although 473 Texas residents were impacted.

The regulatory filing did not include specific dates for when the breach occurred, how long it lasted or when it was discovered by the company.

The breach exposed a broad range of sensitive consumer information. The compromised data included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial information (such as account numbers or credit/ debit card numbers), medical information, health insurance information and dates of birth.

New York Life's response to the breach

New York Life is sending notification letters to affected individuals through U.S. Mail.

For general customer inquiries, New York Life provides support at 1-800-326-9986.

Consumers who believe they may be affected but have not received a letter may want to contact the company directly to confirm whether their information was involved. Because this breach involves highly sensitive information spanning financial, medical and identity records, affected individuals are encouraged not to wait for their notification letter before taking protective steps.

Steps to take if your information was exposed

• Place a credit freeze or fraud alert with Equifax (1-800-525-6285), Experian (1-888-397-3742) and TransUnion (1-800-680-7289) to help prevent new accounts from being opened in your name.
• Review your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and look for any accounts, inquiries or changes you do not recognize.
• Monitor bank and credit card statements closely for unauthorized charges or withdrawals, since financial account information was part of this breach.
• Watch for phishing attempts that reference New York Life or this data breach by name, as scammers often send emails or texts designed to look like real breach notifications.
• Contact your health insurance provider to review recent claims and Explanation of Benefits statements for medical services you did not receive.
• Consider requesting a new driver's license number from your state's department of motor vehicles, since driver's license numbers were among the compromised data.