Westwood, MA. — (June 18, 2007) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was essentially flat in May, off -0.4% year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. The year-to-date (YTD) decline of -3.8% over January-May 2006, compares less favorably to a -2.1% decline seen during the first five months of last year, January-May 2006/2005. Month-over-month, May’s application volume was down -4.9% from April 2007 levels.
U.S. application activity declined -0.2% in May year-over-year, all ages combined. Growth was seen in both the 45-59 and 60+ age groups, up +1.5% and +5.2%, respectively compared to activity in May 2006. The 0-44 age group was off -2.0% year-over-year. The +5.2% jump in applications for ages 60+ was the largest year-over-year increase for that age group since January 2005. YTD, U.S. application activity is -3.7% behind the same five month period 2006.
Canadian application activity was off slightly, down -1.5% in May year-over-year, all ages combined. By age group, ages 45-59 jumped +4.0%, with ages 0-44 and ages 60+ off -3.9% and -1.0%, respectively. YTD, Canada’s application activity is tracking -4.2% behind the same five month period 2006. May’s application activity exceeded that of April by +2.5%, consistent with a five year month-to-month trend for this period. Monthly Percent Change vs. 2006
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2006 | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| May 2007 | -0.2% | -1.5% | -0.4% |
| April 2007 | -2.2% | +2.4% | -1.6% |
| YTD 2007 | -3.7% | -4.2% | -3.8% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| May 2007 | -6.0% | +2.5% | -4.9% |
NOTE: 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.
