New York Life Streamlines Service Workflows for Agents and Millions of Policyholders with Docusign and Salesforce

New York Life is the largest and oldest mutual life insurance company in the U.S. It’s survived world wars, financial crises, global pandemics, and sweeping industry shifts.

But even institutions built to last must keep evolving.

For the 180-year-old insurer, that means investing in tools that meet customers and agents where they are today, without losing the trust that took generations to build.

“We realized we needed to move our business from physical paper and wet ink to an electronic path,” said Tyisha Serrano, senior associate. 

At the center of New York Life’s recent transformation is the seamless integration of Docusign eSignature within Salesforce, which gives agents a single, familiar hub to manage and send service requests quickly and reliably.

“What stood out about Docusign was the limitless opportunities to customize and add value,” said Serrano. “The Salesforce integration expanded that world of possibilities.”

Embedding eSignature in Salesforce transformed how everyday requests move through the business

New York Life’s earlier digitization efforts fell short of expectations. “We implemented an e-signature tool that wasn’t ideal for us,” said Serrano.

Clients hit authentication roadblocks, and agents found the process confusing. Customer service reps also struggled with the complex, heavily customized system. The friction slowed everything down.

That experience brought things into focus: New York Life didn’t just need digital tools—it needed an easy-to-use solution that fit naturally within existing workflows. Rebuilding around Docusign and Salesforce delivered exactly that.

With Docusign eSignature embedded in Salesforce, agents now access any policy-related document—including beneficiary changes, payment authorizations, and policy amendments—from one central location.

Instead of uploading and emailing PDFs, they self-serve from a library of browser-based PowerForms that adapt on the fly and enforce business rules.

Automation handles the rest: pulling in client data, routing documents for e-signature, tracking status, and updating records in Salesforce.

“The integration has dramatically improved our end-to-end workflows,” said Serrano. 

For agents, the new process means less time searching for forms or correcting errors and more time focused on clients. “It helps them move a little bit faster in their busy lives.”

Now, most agreements are now signed in less than a day, with millions completed in just a few hours.

“Now, everything’s right at our fingertips”

Serrano’s favorite feature is Docusign’s out-of-the-box reporting.

“Before, we had to manually piece together what was going on,” she said. “Now, we can track statuses, measure how long it takes to get a signature, and see how our forms are being adopted—all without customization.”

Live dashboards help spot bottlenecks and ensure timely completions. Meanwhile, a full audit trail records every click and timestamp, providing full accountability.

“That kind of transparency was missing before,” Serrano said.

With clear visibility into every request, teams can drive continuous improvement and ensure compliance—all while supporting millions of policyholders efficiently.

What’s next: a larger library, deeper automation

After a year and a half of partnership, New York Life is just getting started.

“We’ve come a long way transforming our services, but there are plenty of opportunities to expand,” Serrano said. “Adding more forms and automation—that’s our next focus.”

She credits Docusign’s professional services team with steady guidance throughout the transition. “They held our hands when we needed it and gave us the knowledge to make confident decisions on our own.”

For Serrano, the end game goes beyond digitizing forms—it’s about building scalable infrastructure that evolves with the business. “I like to say that when we’re working with Docusign, anything is possible.”