Braintree, MA. — (September 9, 2008) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was down -1.9% in August year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Year-to-date (YTD) U.S. and Canadian application activity was off -1.6% compared to the same period last year. August’s activity was off -1.0% when compared to July 2008.
U.S. application activity was off -2.0% in August year-over-year, all ages combined. When compared against August 2007, the 0-44 age group declined -4.8%, ages 45-59 were flat at -0.1% and ages 60+ extended its 17 month growth trend, up +7.6%. YTD, U.S. application activity was off -2.2%, all ages combined.
Canadian application activity was off -1.2% in August year-over-year, all ages combined. Application activity was off across all three age groups: 0-44 off -0.7%, 45-59 off -1.9% and 60+ off -2.7% year-over-year. Despite August declines, YTD growth in Canadian application activity remains positive for the year, up +2.0% compared against the same 8 months last year.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2007* | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| August 2008 | -2.0% | -1.2% | -1.9% |
| July 2008 | -0.2% | +0.4% | -0.2% |
| YTD 2008 | -2.2% | +2.0% | -1.6% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| August 2008 | -1.0% | -1.1% | -1.0% |
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.
