Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	1. Business, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Business “Brighthouse NY” and the “Company” refer to Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY, a New York domiciled life insurance company. Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (“Brighthouse Insurance”), which is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (MetLife, Inc., together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, “MetLife”). The Company markets and/or administers traditional life, universal life, variable annuity and fixed annuity products to individuals. The Company is licensed to transact business in the state of New York. The Company is organized into two segments: Annuities and Life. In January 2016, MetLife, Inc. announced its plan to pursue the separation of a substantial portion of its U.S. retail business (the “Separation”). Additionally, on July 21, 2016, MetLife, Inc. announced that following the planned Separation, the separated business will be rebranded as “Brighthouse Financial.” On October 5, 2016, Brighthouse Financial, Inc., a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (“Brighthouse”), filed a registration statement on Form 10 (the “Form 10”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). On December 6, 2016 and on April 18, 2017, Brighthouse filed amendments to its registration statement on Form 10 with the SEC. The information statement filed as an exhibit to the Form 10 disclosed that MetLife intends to include the Company and certain affiliates in the proposed separated business and distribute at least 80.1% of the shares of Brighthouse’s common stock on a pro rata basis to the holders of MetLife, Inc. common stock. Effective March 6, 2017, and in connection with the planned Separation, the Company changed its name from First MetLife Investors Insurance Company to Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY. Additionally, effective April 2017, MetLife, Inc. contributed the Company to Brighthouse Life Insurance Company. The ultimate form and timing of the planned Separation will be influenced by a number of factors, including regulatory considerations and economic conditions. MetLife continues to evaluate and pursue structural alternatives for the proposed Separation. The planned Separation remains subject to certain conditions, including among others, obtaining final approval from the MetLife, Inc. Board of Directors, receipt of a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service and an opinion from MetLife’s tax advisor regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters, insurance and other regulatory approvals, and an SEC declaration of the effectiveness of the Form 10. Basis of Presentation The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to adopt accounting policies and make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported on the interim condensed financial statements. In applying these policies and estimates, management makes subjective and complex judgments that frequently require assumptions about matters that are inherently uncertain. Many of these policies, estimates and related judgments are common in the insurance and financial services industries; others are specific to the Company’s business and operations. Actual results could differ from these estimates. Since the Company is a member of a controlled group of affiliated companies, its results may not be indicative of those of a stand-alone entity. The accompanying interim condensed financial statements are unaudited and reflect all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented in conformity with GAAP. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of full year performance. The December 31, 2016 balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements included in Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (the “2016 Annual Report”), which include all disclosures required by GAAP. Therefore, these interim condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements of the Company included in the 2016 Annual Report. Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements Effective January 1, 2017, the Company early adopted guidance relating to business combinations. The new guidance clarifies the definition of a business and requires that an entity apply certain criteria in order to determine when a set of assets and activities qualifies as a business. The adoption of this standard will result in fewer acquisitions qualifying as businesses and, accordingly, acquisition costs for those acquisitions that do not qualify as businesses will be capitalized rather than expensed. The adoption did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements. Effective January 1, 2017, the Company retrospectively adopted guidance relating to consolidation. The new guidance does not change the characteristics of a primary beneficiary under current GAAP. It changes how a reporting entity evaluates whether it is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entities (“VIEs”) by changing how a reporting entity that is a single decisionmaker of a VIE handles indirect interests in the entity held through related parties that are under common control with the reporting entity. The adoption of this new guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements. Future Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued new guidance on purchased callable debt securities (Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-08, Receivables-Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20), Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those years and should be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment directly to retained earnings. Early adoption is permitted. The ASU shortens the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium and requires the premium to be amortized to the earliest call date. However, the new guidance does not require an accounting change for securities held at a discount whose discount continues to be amortized to maturity. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on restricted cash (ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years, and should be applied on a retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. As a result, the new guidance requires that amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The new guidance does not provide a definition of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements. In October 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on tax accounting for intra-entity transfers of assets (ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years, and should be applied on a modified retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted in the first interim or annual reporting period. Current guidance prohibits the recognition of current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity asset transfer until the asset has been sold to an outside party. The new guidance requires an entity to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. Also, the guidance eliminates the exception for an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on cash flow statement presentation (ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years, and should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. Early adoption is permitted in any interim or annual period. This ASU addresses diversity in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified on the statement of cash flows. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements. In June 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on measurement of credit losses on financial instruments (ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. This ASU replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology with one that reflects expected credit losses. The measurement of expected credit losses should be based on historical loss information, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The new guidance requires that an other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”) on a debt security will be recognized as an allowance going forward, such that improvements in expected future cash flows after an impairment will no longer be reflected as a prospective yield adjustment through net investment income, but rather a reversal of the previous impairment and recognized through realized investment gains and losses. The guidance also requires enhanced disclosures. The Company has assessed the asset classes impacted by the new guidance and is currently assessing the accounting and reporting system changes that will be required to comply with the new guidance. The Company believes that the most significant impact upon adoption will be to its mortgage loan investments. The Company is continuing to evaluate the overall impact of the new guidance on its financial statements. In January 2016, the FASB issued new guidance (ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities) on the recognition and measurement of financial instruments. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for the instrument-specific credit risk provision. The new guidance changes the current accounting guidance related to (i) the classification and measurement of certain equity investments, (ii) the presentation of changes in the fair value of financial liabilities measured under the fair value option that are due to instrument-specific credit risk, and (iii) certain disclosures associated with the fair value of financial instruments. Additionally, there will no longer be a requirement to assess equity securities for impairment since such securities will be measured at fair value through net income. The Company has assessed the population of financial instruments that are subject to the new guidance and has determined that the most significant impact will be the requirement to report changes in fair value in net income each reporting period for all equity securities currently classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) and to a lesser extent, other limited partnership interests and real estate joint ventures that are currently accounted for under the cost method. The population of these investments accounted for under the cost method is not material. The Company is continuing to evaluate the overall impact of this guidance on its financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued a comprehensive new revenue recognition standard (ASU 2014‑09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)), effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those years. The guidance may be applied retrospectively for all periods presented or retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption. The new guidance will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP; however, it will not impact the accounting for insurance and investment contracts within the scope of Financial Services insurance (Topic 944), leases, financial instruments and guarantees. For those contracts that are impacted, the guidance will require an entity to recognize revenue upon the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled, in exchange for those goods or services. Given the scope of the new revenue recognition guidance, the Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its revenues or statements of operations, with the Company’s implementation efforts primarily focused on other revenues on the statements of operations.

Business

“Brighthouse NY” and the “Company” refer to Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY, a New York domiciled life insurance company. Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (“Brighthouse Insurance”), which is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (MetLife, Inc., together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, “MetLife”). The Company markets and/or administers traditional life, universal life, variable annuity and fixed annuity products to individuals. The Company is licensed to transact business in the state of New York.

The Company is organized into two segments: Annuities and Life.

In January 2016, MetLife, Inc. announced its plan to pursue the separation of a substantial portion of its U.S. retail business (the “Separation”). Additionally, on July 21, 2016, MetLife, Inc. announced that following the planned Separation, the separated business will be rebranded as “Brighthouse Financial.” On October 5, 2016, Brighthouse Financial, Inc., a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (“Brighthouse”), filed a registration statement on Form 10 (the “Form 10”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). On December 6, 2016 and on April 18, 2017, Brighthouse filed amendments to its registration statement on Form 10 with the SEC. The information statement filed as an exhibit to the Form 10 disclosed that MetLife intends to include the Company and certain affiliates in the proposed separated business and distribute at least 80.1% of the shares of Brighthouse’s common stock on a pro rata basis to the holders of MetLife, Inc. common stock. Effective March 6, 2017, and in connection with the planned Separation, the Company changed its name from First MetLife Investors Insurance Company to Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY. Additionally, effective April 2017, MetLife, Inc. contributed the Company to Brighthouse Life Insurance Company.

The ultimate form and timing of the planned Separation will be influenced by a number of factors, including regulatory considerations and economic conditions. MetLife continues to evaluate and pursue structural alternatives for the proposed Separation. The planned Separation remains subject to certain conditions, including among others, obtaining final approval from the MetLife, Inc. Board of Directors, receipt of a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service and an opinion from MetLife’s tax advisor regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters, insurance and other regulatory approvals, and an SEC declaration of the effectiveness of the Form 10.

Basis of Presentation

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to adopt accounting policies and make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported on the interim condensed financial statements. In applying these policies and estimates, management makes subjective and complex judgments that frequently require assumptions about matters that are inherently uncertain. Many of these policies, estimates and related judgments are common in the insurance and financial services industries; others are specific to the Company’s business and operations. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Since the Company is a member of a controlled group of affiliated companies, its results may not be indicative of those of a stand-alone entity.

The accompanying interim condensed financial statements are unaudited and reflect all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented in conformity with GAAP. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of full year performance. The December 31, 2016 balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements included in Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (the “2016 Annual Report”), which include all disclosures required by GAAP. Therefore, these interim condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements of the Company included in the 2016 Annual Report.

Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements

Effective January 1, 2017, the Company early adopted guidance relating to business combinations. The new guidance clarifies the definition of a business and requires that an entity apply certain criteria in order to determine when a set of assets and activities qualifies as a business. The adoption of this standard will result in fewer acquisitions qualifying as businesses and, accordingly, acquisition costs for those acquisitions that do not qualify as businesses will be capitalized rather than expensed. The adoption did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2017, the Company retrospectively adopted guidance relating to consolidation. The new guidance does not change the characteristics of a primary beneficiary under current GAAP. It changes how a reporting entity evaluates whether it is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entities (“VIEs”) by changing how a reporting entity that is a single decisionmaker of a VIE handles indirect interests in the entity held through related parties that are under common control with the reporting entity. The adoption of this new guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.

Future Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued new guidance on purchased callable debt securities (Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-08, Receivables-Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20), Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those years and should be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment directly to retained earnings. Early adoption is permitted. The ASU shortens the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium and requires the premium to be amortized to the earliest call date. However, the new guidance does not require an accounting change for securities held at a discount whose discount continues to be amortized to maturity. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on restricted cash (ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years, and should be applied on a retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. As a result, the new guidance requires that amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The new guidance does not provide a definition of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on tax accounting for intra-entity transfers of assets (ASU 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years, and should be applied on a modified retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted in the first interim or annual reporting period. Current guidance prohibits the recognition of current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity asset transfer until the asset has been sold to an outside party. The new guidance requires an entity to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. Also, the guidance eliminates the exception for an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on cash flow statement presentation (ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years, and should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. Early adoption is permitted in any interim or annual period. This ASU addresses diversity in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified on the statement of cash flows. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued new guidance on measurement of credit losses on financial instruments (ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments). The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. This ASU replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology with one that reflects expected credit losses. The measurement of expected credit losses should be based on historical loss information, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The new guidance requires that an other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”) on a debt security will be recognized as an allowance going forward, such that improvements in expected future cash flows after an impairment will no longer be reflected as a prospective yield adjustment through net investment income, but rather a reversal of the previous impairment and recognized through realized investment gains and losses. The guidance also requires enhanced disclosures. The Company has assessed the asset classes impacted by the new guidance and is currently assessing the accounting and reporting system changes that will be required to comply with the new guidance. The Company believes that the most significant impact upon adoption will be to its mortgage loan investments. The Company is continuing to evaluate the overall impact of the new guidance on its financial statements.

In January 2016, the FASB issued new guidance (ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities) on the recognition and measurement of financial instruments. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for the instrument-specific credit risk provision. The new guidance changes the current accounting guidance related to (i) the classification and measurement of certain equity investments, (ii) the presentation of changes in the fair value of financial liabilities measured under the fair value option that are due to instrument-specific credit risk, and (iii) certain disclosures associated with the fair value of financial instruments. Additionally, there will no longer be a requirement to assess equity securities for impairment since such securities will be measured at fair value through net income. The Company has assessed the population of financial instruments that are subject to the new guidance and has determined that the most significant impact will be the requirement to report changes in fair value in net income each reporting period for all equity securities currently classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) and to a lesser extent, other limited partnership interests and real estate joint ventures that are currently accounted for under the cost method. The population of these investments accounted for under the cost method is not material. The Company is continuing to evaluate the overall impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued a comprehensive new revenue recognition standard (ASU 2014‑09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)), effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those years. The guidance may be applied retrospectively for all periods presented or retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption. The new guidance will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP; however, it will not impact the accounting for insurance and investment contracts within the scope of Financial Services insurance (Topic 944), leases, financial instruments and guarantees. For those contracts that are impacted, the guidance will require an entity to recognize revenue upon the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled, in exchange for those goods or services. Given the scope of the new revenue recognition guidance, the Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its revenues or statements of operations, with the Company’s implementation efforts primarily focused on other revenues on the statements of operations.