(Westwood, Mass. � July 10, 2003) Applications for life insurance in North America increased 2.7% in June halting eight months of consecutive declines in application activity and notably marking June’s first year-over-year activity increase since 1999 according to the MIB Life IndexSM. Nevertheless, the activity increase was insufficient to offset 2003 second quarter North American results which trailed 6.1% below Q2, 2002 levels. June’s application activity increased 2.8% in the U.S. and 2.2% in Canada on a year-over-year basis.
Despite a 6.5% year-to-date lag in U.S. life insurance application activity versus 2002, activity in the 60+ age group continues to outpace all others running 2.4% ahead of last year on a year-to-date basis. For the month, age 60+ U.S. applications experienced double-digit growth up a robust 19% versus June 2002. Similarly, Canadian application activity in the 60+ age group showed a 6.5% year-to-date increase over 2002 levels.
“This increase ends four consecutive years where June’s activity has been less than the previous June,” states Stacy J. Gill, Vice President and Chief Knowledge Officer at the MIB Group’s e-Services Corporation.
The MIB Life Index
The MIB Life Index is released in summary form to the media each month, providing the earliest snapshot of the industry free of charge.
| Monthly Percent Change vs 2002 | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| June 2003 | 2.8% | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| May 2003 | -12.2% | -0.3% | -10.8% |
| YTD 2003 vs YTD 2002 Q1 2003 vs Q1 2002 |
-6.5% | -0.0% | -5.8% |
| Q2 2003 / Q2 2002 | -6.7% | -1.1% | -6.1% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs Previous Month | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| June 2003 | 3.4% | -10.0% | 1.7% |
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
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