WESTWOOD, Mass. (March 08, 2002) –
Consumer applications for life insurance in the U.S. and Canada registered their fifth
consecutive month of increased activity, according to The MIB Life Index for February
2002. This is the longest period of continuous growth since October 1999, when there was a
sustained increase attributable to Regulation XXX.
Activity among U. S. insurers was up 5.3 percent from the
levels of February 2001, while activity among Canadian insurers showed a phenomenal
increase of 24.4 percent. For the two months of January and February 2002, North American
insurers experienced a 7.1 percent increase compared to the same period a year earlier.
Stacy Gill, Vice President and Chief Knowledge Officer at
the MIB Group’s e-Services Corporation commented, “Despite some marked differences
between the U.S. and Canada — the U.S. activity continues to be driven by older
applicants, the Canadian activity by younger — the continuous growth in both markets
underscores the viability and ongoing attractiveness of life insurance as a key element of
consumer’s financial portfolio.”
The MIB Life Index is released in summary form to the media
each month, providing a monthly snapshot free of charge to the industry.
The MIB Life Index
| Monthly Percent Change vs 2001 | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| February 2002 | 5.3% | 24.4% | 7.1% |
| January 2002 | 8.5% | 14.0% | 9.1% |
| January 2002 – February 2002 | 6.9% | 19.2% | 8.1% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs 2001 | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| February 2002 | 1.3% | 9.5% | 2.1% |
About MIB Group, Inc.: MIB Group, Inc., headquartered in
Westwood, Massachusetts, is the leading provider of database and information management
tools to the global risk management community, and is a leading facilitator of electronic
insurance commerce via dedicated networks and Internet-based systems. MIB member companies
underwrite more than 95 percent of the premium dollars of individual life insurance
written in the United States and Canada. More information about MIB Group, Inc. is
available at www.mib.com.
