Braintree, MA. – (Nov. 5, 2009) North American application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was up +2.4% in October year-over-year, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. While the Index lagged prior year�s results for the first two quarters of 2009, July and August activity was flat with solid gains posted in September (+1.2%) and October, year-overyear. Year-to-date (YTD) application activity is off -0.5% compared to the same ten months in 2008. October�s application activity was up +3.7% over this past September.
Application activity in the U.S. was up +2.2% in October year-over-year, all ages combined. Growth was seen in the 45-59 and 60+ age groups up +4.7% and 17.7%, respectively, while the 0-44 age group was off -2.0%. U.S. volume has been driven principally from double-digit increases in ages 60+ volume across eight of the last ten months, and most recently by gains in the middle-market (ages 45-59) in the last two months. YTD, U.S. application activity is off -0.9%.
Application activity in Canada was up +3.8% in October year-over-year, all ages combined. Growth was strong both in the 45-59 and 60+ age groups up +11.4% and +13.1%, respectively, while the 0-44 age group lagged -1.1% year-over-year. Gains in age groups 45-59 and 60+ have been significant for all of 2009 except January. YTD, Canadian application activity is up +1.9%.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2008* | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| Oct 2009 | +2.2% | +3.8% | +2.4% |
| Sept 2009 | +1.8% | -2.6% | +1.2% |
| YTD 2009 | -0.9% | +1.9% | -0.5% |
| Monthly Percent Change vs. Previous Month | |||
| U.S. | Canada | Total | |
| October 2009 | +3.4% | +5.9% | +3.7% |
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.
