WESTWOOD, Mass., Sept. 28 — North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was down -3.7% in August, year-over-year according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Year-to-date (YTD) U.S. and Canadian application activity remained level from July’s volume, off -3.3% compared to the same period last year.
U.S. application activity declined -4.8% in August year-over-year, all ages combined. Declining activity was seen in the 0-44 and 45-59 age groups, off -6.2% and -4.1% respectively, while the 60+ age group extended a five month growth trend up +1.3% versus August 2006. YTD, U.S. application activity lags -3.6% behind the same eight month period in 2006. August activity was up +0.8% versus that of July; historical growth for this period has been +3.0% to +3.5% over the past three years.
Canadian application activity was up +4.1% in August year-over-year, all ages combined. This is the highest application volume for an August ever recorded since the inception of the MIB Life Index in 2001. Application activity was up across all three age groups: ages 0-44, up +1.9%; ages 45-59, up +7.7%; and ages 60+, up +8.8%. YTD, Canadian application activity is closing the gap to positive territory, off -1.4% compared to same period 2006.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2006 | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| August 2007 | -4.8% | +4.1% | -3.7% |
| July 2007 | -2.6% | +6.5% | -1.5% |
| YTD 2007 | -3.6% | -1.4% | -3.3% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| August 2007 | +0.8% | +0.4% | +0.7% |
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.
