Braintree, MA. — (July 9, 2008) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was off slightly in June, down -0.9% year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Second quarter activity trailed that of Q2 2007 by -2.5%. Year-to-date (YTD) life insurance application activity has declined -1.9%, compared to the same period last year.
U.S. application activity was off -0.9% in June year-over-year, all ages combined. Second quarter activity trailed that of Q2 2007 by -2.9% with quarterly declines principally attributed to lost ground in the 0-44 and 45-59 age groups, down -4.4% and -2.5% respectively. Ages 60+ showed a quarterly increase of +4.2%, Q2 2008 over Q2 2007. June’s activity by age group followed suit: ages 0-44 and 45-59 off -2.3% and -0.5% year-over-year, respectively with a +5.1% jump, ages 60+. YTD, U.S. application activity is off -2.5% versus the same six months 2007.
Canadian application activity was off -0.7% in June year-over-year, all ages combined. Second quarter year-over-year was flat at -0.2%. When added to first quarter gains, Canada’s application activity is ahead of last year by +2.8% YTD. Unlike the US, Canada’s June activity by age group was flat in the 0-44 and 45-59 groupings, off -0.5% and up +0.5%, respectively when compared to last June. Strong year-over-year first quarter growth in both these age groupings (+6.9% and +5.5%, respectively) appears to have given way in the second quarter of 2008. Age 60+ activity was down -6.3% versus June 2007, marking its fourth consecutive month of declines.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2007* | |||
| (period 2008) | U.S. | Canada | Total |
| June 2008 | -0.9% | -0.7% | -0.9% |
| May 2008 | -2.9% | +0.8% | -2.4% |
| Q2 | -2.9% | -0.2% | -2.5% |
| YTD | -2.5% | +2.8% | -1.9% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| June 2008 | +0.5% | -8.0% | -0.7% |
* May, June, Q2 and YTD 2008 percentages have been adjusted to reflect a Canadian reporting anomaly for the period January-June 2007.
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.
