Braintree, MA. – (March 10, 2009) – North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was up +1.1% in February, year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Application activity from January to February 2009 was up +12.9%. Year-to-date (YTD), North American activity is off -1.7% compared to the same two months last year. Percent changes in February�s Life Index may be attributable to the Life Index methodology rather than a change in underlying industry trends*.
U.S. application activity was up +1.0% in February year-over-year, all ages combined. Application volumes for people ages 45-59 and ages 60+ grew by +3.9% and +14.9% respectively, year-over-year while ages 0-44 were off -2.9% in February. Application activity is off -1.6% all ages combined year-to-date.
Canadian application activity increased +1.6% in February year-over-year all ages combined. By age grouping, Canadian application activity mirrored that of the U.S. Application volumes for people ages 45-59 and ages 60+ grew by +6.2% and +12.5% respectively, year-over-year while ages 0-44 were off -2.0% in February. February activity was up +29.2% over prior January, demonstrating growth over the 19-20% characteristic for this time period. Year-to-date, application activity is off -2.3% all ages combined.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2008* | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| February 2009 | +1.0% | +1.6% | +1.1% |
| January 2009 | -4.3% | -6.5% | -4.5% |
| YTD 2008 | -1.6% | -2.3% | -1.7% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| February 2008 | +10.9% | +29.2% | +12.9% |
NOTES: * Life Index methodology computes net gain or loss over prior periods using average daily volumes: MIB Checking Service volume for life insurance by country divided by number of business days in that country [as determined by the days of operation for the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges]. Fewer or more business days in a comparative time period account for variations that may at times be impactful. Volatility in Canadian activity is greater than that observed in the U.S. due to lower volume.
The February MIB Life Index, has 1 fewer business day in February 2009 versus February 2008 for the U.S. and Canada. The period February 2009 versus prior January has 2 fewer business days in Canada and 1 fewer in the U.S.
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.
