North American Life Insurance Activity Up Slightly in February

(Westwood, Mass. – March 17, 2006) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was up slightly in February, +0.5%
year-over-year, marking the second consecutive month of positive 2006 results according to the MIB Life Indexsm. This is the first time back-to-back increases have been seen in the Index in over three years. Year-to-date (YTD) North American applications are up +1.2%.

U.S. application activity was up +0.3% in February year-over-year all ages combined. Activity was up in the 0-44 and 45-59 age groups, +0.2% and +2.0%, respectively with decreased activity in ages 60+ off -3.4%. For the first two months 2006, age 60+ lags the same period 2005 by -1.5%, but is still +2.1% ahead of two-month YTD activity for 2004.

Canadian application activity was up +2.1% in February year-over-year all ages combined partially offsetting January�s -4.0 decline. Unlike the U.S., Canadian activity was up across all three age groups: 0-44 up +1.6%, age 45-59 up +2.7%, and 60+ up +3.8%. YTD, the 60+ age group is running strong up +5.5% ahead for the same two month period in 2005. Canada�s +18.4% February increase over prior January is in line with historical trends.

  Monthly Percent Change vs. 2004
US Canada Total
February 2006 +0.3% +2.1% +0.5%
January 2005 +2.7% -4.0% +2.0%
December ’05 vs. Dec. ’04 +1.5% -1.1% +1.2%


  Monthly Percent Change vs Previous Month
US Canada Total
February 2006 +10.1% +18.4% +11.0%

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.