(Westwood, Mass. — April 24, 2007) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was off -3.5% in March year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. March’s decline moderated from January’s published -7.4% decline and February’s -6.5% decline year-over-year. At the close of the first quarter, North American application activity was down -5.5%, compared to Q1 2006. Month-over-month, March volume was off slightly from February 2007, down -1.1%.
U.S. application activity declined -3.3% in March and -6.3% in February year-over-year, all ages combined. March volumes were off across all three age groups: ages 0-44 (-3.9%), ages 45-59 (-2.3%) and ages 60+ (-2.4%) compared to the same period last year. A first quarter 2007 decline of -5.3% versus Q1 2006, compares unfavorably to 2006’s first quarter -1.3% decline versus Q1 2005¹.
Canadian application activity declined -5.1% in March and -7.8% in February year-overyear. March declines by age group mirrored those in the U.S.: ages 0-44 (-6.8%), ages 45-59 (-1.4%) and ages 60+ (-4.4%) compared to the same period last year. At the close of the first quarter 2007, Canadian applications were off -7.5%.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2006 | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| March 2007 | -3.3% | -5.1% | -3.5% |
| February 2007 | -6.3% | -7.8% | -6.5% |
| Q1 – 2007 | -5.3% | -7.5% | -5.5% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| March 2007 | -2.1% | -6.4% | -1.1% |
¹NOTE: The methodology for determining application activity by country has been modified effective January 2007. Comparative figures and trends calculated in this press release are from re-stated numbers. As a result, figures may vary from prior press releases: see www.mib.com/limethodology for details.
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.
