North American Life Insurance Activity Off 3.9% in May

(Westwood, Mass. � June 20, 2005) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance declined -3.9% in May, year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Index. It was the Index�s fourth consecutive monthly drop, and the tenth decline in the last 12 months. Year-to-date application activity was off -3.3% for North America; off -3.4% and -2.5% for the U.S. and Canada, respectively.

The U.S. MIB Life Indexsm declined -4.2% in May, year-over-year, for all ages combined. Declines were seen in the younger age groups: -5.7%, -3.1%, age groups 0-44 and 45-59, respectively, and increased in the 60+ age group, up +1.1% year-over-year. Monthly percent change versus prior month shows May activity down -5.5% over this past April.

Canadian application activity declined -1.5% in May, year-over-year, for all ages combined. Declines were seen across all three age groups: -1.3%, -1.6% and -3.1%, age groups 0-44, 45-59, and 60+, respectively, year-over-year. Monthly percent change versus prior month shows May activity up +5.3% over this past April, consistent with the upswing observed for the prior March-to-April 2005 period.

  Monthly Percent Change vs. 2004
US Canada Total
May 2005 -4.2% -1.5% -3.9%
April 2005 -5.7% +0.7% -5.0%
YTD 2005 -3.4% -2.5% -3.3%


  Monthly Percent Change vs Previous Month
US Canada Total
May 2005 -5.5% +5.3% -4.2%

About the MIB Life Index

The MIB Life Index is the life insurance industry’s timeliest measure of application activity across the U.S. Released to the media each month, the Index is based on the number of searches life member company underwriters perform on the MIB Checking Service database. Since the vast majority of individually underwritten life premium dollars in North America include an MIB search as a routine underwriting requirement, the MIB Life Index provides a reasonable means to estimate new business activity.

About MIB

MIB is the life and health insurance industry’s most trusted resource for risk information and analytical services. Owned by the industry it has served for more than a century, MIB is uniquely positioned to aggregate industry insights in order to develop products and services for our members that improve their risk management decisions. MIB, Inc. and MIB Solutions, Inc. are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the MIB Group, Inc. Visit www.mib.com.