(Westwood, Mass. – July 21, 2006) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was off -5.4% in June year-over-year, the largest change in the last four consecutive years of June declines, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. June-over-June changes for the 2002-2006 period have averaged -3.3%. Year-to-date (YTD), U.S. and Canadian application activity was off -2.9% year-over-year, compared to this past May’s -2.4% YTD change.
U.S. application activity was off -5.7% in June year-over-year, all ages combined. Declines were consistent across all three age groups: -5.7%, -5.9% and -5.5% for ages 0-44, 45-59 and age 60+, respectively compared to same period 2005. YTD U.S. applications were down -3.0% versus same period 2005. Activity in the second quarter (Q2) 2006 was -4.4% behind Q2 last year, which compares unfavorably to the first quarter’s -1.8% decline over Q1 2005.
Canadian application activity was off -3.4% in June year-over-year, all ages combined. Though less steep than the U.S., declines were seen across all age groups: -3.0%, -4.3% and -2.7% for ages 0-44, 45-59 and age 60+, respectively compared to same period 2005. YTD, Canadian applications were down -1.8% versus same period 2005. Activity in the second quarter (Q2) 2006 was -4.5% behind Q2 last year; declines across all age groups: 0-44 (-4.8%), 45-59 (-4.9%) and 60+ (-0.4%). This was a reversal of first quarter (Q1) 2006 gains: +1.5% overall and for ages 0-44 (+0.3%), 45-59 (+3.1%), and 60+ (+6.1%).
| Monthly Percent Change vs 2005 | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| June 2006 | -5.7% | -3.4% | -5.4% |
| May 2006 | -4.4% | -4.9% | -4.5% |
| Q2-2006 vs. Q2-2005 | -4.4% | -4.5% | -4.4% |
| YTD 2006 | -3.0% | -1.8% | -2.9% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs 2005 | |||
| US | Canada | Total | |
| June 2006 | -0.2% | -6.3% | -1.1% |
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.
