Application Volume Stable over Last 3 Months
Braintree, MA. � (September 10, 2009) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance increased +0.9% in August versus same month last year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm.. Stable application volumes over the past three months suggest a flattening out for the industry in light of last December�s and January�s nearly -9% and -5% decline in volumes from the economic crisis. Year-to-date (YTD), North American activity is off -1.1% compared to the same eight months last year � a half point improvement of where the industry stood August 2008 / 2007 YTD (-1.6%).
U.S. application activity was stable in August (+0.1%) year-over-year, all ages combined. Double digit gains in the 60+ age group, up +12.5% lead all other age groups — ages 0-44 off -3.1%, and ages 45-59 showed slight improvement, up +0.8% over same month last year. YTD, U.S. application activity is off -1.6%; July-to-August activity remained unchanged.
Canadian application activity jumped +6.3% in August year-over-year, all ages combined posting its largest gain in seven of the last eight months. Since February, application growth has been dominated by the 60+ and 45-59 age groups, up +16.8% and +13.1% in August, respectively. Ages 0-44 was up +1.7% as compared to the same month last year. YTD, Canadian activity is up +2.2%; July-to-August activity was off -1.0%.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2008* | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| August 2009 | +0.1% | +6.3% | +0.9% |
| July 2009 | -0.9% | +6.2% | 0.0% |
| YTD 2009 | -1.6% | +2.2% | -1.1% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| August 2009 | -0.0% | -1.0% | -0.1% |
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.
