MIB Life Index Reports North American Life Insurance Activity off 2.5% in May

Braintree, MA. � (June 10, 2009) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was off in -2.5% May year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. May�s activity level as compared to April was off -5.0%. For the first five months of 2009, the MIB Life Index is down -1.8% YTD. When compared against May 2008 YTD figures, the industry is just slightly ahead (+.3%) of where it stood at this same time last year (off -2.1% YTD).

U.S. application activity was off -3.0% in May year-over-year, all ages combined. Activity in the 0-44 and 45-59 age groups was off -7.0% and -1.1%, respectively year-over-year while ages 60+ continued its 2+ year growth trend, up +11.3% compared to May 2008. U.S. application activity is off -2.2% YTD, all ages combined.

Canadian application activity overall remained slightly positive in May, up +0.5% year-over-year, all ages combined. Activity in the 0-44 age group was down -4.4%, while year-over-year increases were seen in the 45-59 and 60+ age groups up +6.5% and a robust +17.0%, respectively. Canada has experienced strong application growth in ages 45-59 and 60+ for the past four consecutive months. Canadian application activity is up +1.0% YTD, all ages combined.

  Monthly Percent Change vs. 2008*
  U.S. Canada Total
May 2009 -3.0% +0.5% -2.5%
April 2009 -0.8% +3.0% -0.3%
YTD 2009 -2.2% +1.0% -1.8%
  Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month
  U.S. Canada Total
May 2009 -6.4% +3.8% -5.0%


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.