Braintree, MA. – (February 10, 2009) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was down -4.5% in January year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Application activity by month – January to December 2008 – was flat at +0.4%; the prior two years for this period have shown declines in the 3-4% range.
U.S. application activity was down -4.3% in January year-over-year, all ages combined. Application activity by age group showed declines in the 0-44 and 45-59 age group, off -7.8%, and -1.6%, respectively; ages 60+ showed continued growth, up +7.8% year-over-year. U.S. trends remain consistent: year-over-year activity, ages 0-44, has lost ground for nearly three consecutive years while the 60+ age group has increased steadily since March 2007. January activity was up +1.5% for all ages as compared to the prior December; this period has shown declines in the last two years.
Canadian application activity was off -6.5% in January year-over-year, all ages combined. Activity declined in age groups 0-44 and 45-59, off -8.3% and -4.4%, respectively with ages 60+ flat at -0.1%, year-over-year. January application activity was off -7.5% as compared to the prior December, consistent with trends for this time period.
| Monthly Percent Change (year-over-year) | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| Jan. 2009 vs. Jan. 2008 | -4.3% | -6.5% | -4.5% |
| Dec. 2008 vs. Dec. 2007 | -9.3% | -5.6% | -8.9% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| January 2009 | +1.5% | -7.5% | +0.4% |
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.
