Application volume off 2.5% in 2007
Braintree, MA. – (February 12, 2008) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was up +1.4% in December, year-over-year. For the year, 2007 application activity lagged that of 2006 by -2.5%, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Despite early year first quarter declines, the 60+ age demographic was the only age group to post 2007 year-todate gains, up +1.8%. Consistent with the trend, strong fourth quarter gains (up +7.8% Q3/Q4 2007) drew 2007’s Q4 activity level with 2006 — off a modest -0.5%.
U.S. application activity was flat in December, up a modest +0.4% year-over-year, all ages combined. For the year (YTD), 2007 applications lagged that of 2006 by -2.9%. Year-to-date, the age 60+ demographic was the only grouping to post annual gains, up +1.7% year-over-year, as compared to the prior year’s losses of -2.0% (2005/2006). Age groups 0-44 and 45-59 were off -4.1% and -1.9%, respectively as compared with year-end 2006. The 0-44 age group (representing 62% of all application volume) has declined -11.8% over a three-year period (2004/2007).
Canadian application activity jumped +9.2% in December year-over-year, all ages combined posting the largest net gain for a December since the Index’s inception. For the year, 2007 applications finished relatively level with last year, up a slight +0.6%.
In contrast to U.S., both Canada’s 45-59 and 60+ age groups finished 2007 (YTD) with yearover-year increases, up +4.3% and +2.2%, respectively. Applications in ages 0-44 were off -1.3% from 2006 year-end levels.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2006 | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| December 2007 | +0.4% | +9.2% | +1.4% |
| November 2007 | -2.8% | +4.2% | -2.0% |
| Q4 2007 | -1.2% | +4.7% | -0.5% |
| YTD – 2007 | -2.9% | +0.6% | -2.5% |
| Yearly Change by Age Group 2007 vs. 2006 | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| 0 – 44 | -4.1% | -1.3% | -3.8% |
| 45 – 59 | -1.9% | +4.3% | -1.2% |
| 60 + | +1.7% | +2.2% | +1.8% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| December 2007 | +2.8% | -11.6% | +0.9% |
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.
