(Braintree, MA. — March 7, 2008) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance remained flat (+0.4%) in January year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Applications were off -4.2% when compared against December 2007 activity. January’s month-over-month activity has lagged that of the previous December in six of the last seven years.
U.S. application activity was off slightly in January, down -1.0% year-over-year all ages combined. Declining activity ages 0-44 (off -2.8%) was offset by flat activity ages 45-59 (up +0.2%) and growth of +6.4% in the 60+ age group versus same period last year. Yearover-year application volume ages 60+ has increased in six of the last seven years; this is the largest increase for this age group / time period since 2002.
Canadian application activity jumped +12.3% in January year-over-year, all ages combined. The largest increase for this time period on record, it is primarily attributed to lower than normal seasonal application activity in the comparative Jan. ’07 / Jan. ’06. Growth translated across all three age groups: 0-44 up +13.8%, ages 45-59 up +11%, and ages 60+ up +5.8% versus same period last year.
| Monthly Percent Change (year-over-year) | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| January ’08 vs. Jan. ’07 | -1.0% | +12.3% | +0.4% |
| December ’07 vs. Dec. ’06 | +0.4% | +9.2% | +1.4% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| January 2008 | -3.9% | -6.6% | -4.2% |
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.
