Westwood, MA. — (January 3, 2008) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance declined -2.0% in November year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Index MIB Life Indexsm. Year-to-date (YTD) U.S. and Canadian application activity was off -2.8% compared to the same period last year.
U.S. application activity in November was off -2.8% year-over-year, all ages combined. Declining activity was seen in the 0-44 and 45-59 age groups off -3.7% and -2.2% respectively, while the 60+ age group barely extended an eight month growth trend up +0.4% versus November 2006. Year-to-date, the age 60+ group is the only one exhibiting growth, up +1.4%. Year-to-date application activity lags -3.2% behind the same eleven months last year, all ages combined.
Canadian application activity was moderately higher in November, up +4.2% year-over-year, all ages combined marking Canada’s sixth consecutive month of increased volume. Application activity increased across all three age groups: 0-44, up +3.8%; 45-59, up +5.2%; and 60+, up +4.0%. At month’s end, YTD application activity by age group was off – 2.1% (0-44) with increases in the 45-59 and 60+ age groups up +4.0% and +1.8%, respectively. Year-to-date for all ages combined, Canadian application activity remains flat (-0.1%) compared to the same eleven months last year.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2006 | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| November 2007 | -2.8% | +4.2% | -2.0% |
| October 2007 | -1.2% | +1.4% | -0.9% |
| YTD – 2007 | -3.2% | -0.1% | -2.8% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| November 2007 | -1.2% | +2.1% | -0.8% |
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.
