(Westwood, Mass. � February 17, 2003) January applications for life insurance in North America declined 5.3% year-over-year. In the U.S., January applications fell 5.7% with Canadian activity off 1.6% compared to the same month last year. Trending January activity over the past two years, application activity in the U.S. and Canada was off 12.5% and 5.5% respectively, with January 2002 being a relatively active month based on the events of September 11th.
According to The MIB Life IndexSM, North American application activity in January declined sharply in the age 59 and under demographic and remain uncharacteristically flat in the 60+ age group. Activity in the 0-44 age group declined 7.3% and 3.2% year-over-year in the U.S. and Canada respectively; a decrease of 15.3% and 9.5% respectively compared to December 2003. The 45-59 age group declined 4.1% and increased 1.7% year-over-year in the U.S. and Canada respectively; a decline of 16.2% and 13.5% respectively compared to December 2003. Ages 60+ was atypically level at 0.1% in the U.S., and showed a 1.4% increase in Canada year-over-year; declining sharply against last month’s activity at 12.3% and 16.5% respectively.
The January 2004 MIB Life Index features a new methodology designed to create a more robust measure of life insurance industry trends.
2003 MIB Life Index Annual Report
The life insurance industry’s earliest results and trends are available in MIB’s 2003 Life Index Annual Report.
| Monthly Percent Change vs 2002 | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| Jan. ’04 vs. Jan. ’03 | -5.7% | -1.6% | -5.3% |
| Dec. ’03 vs. Dec. ’02 | 9.9% | 2.9% | 9.1% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs Previous Month | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| January 2004 | -15.2% | -11.1% | -14.8% |
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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