Braintree, MA. � (March 9, 2010) After six consecutive months of year-over-year increases, U.S. application activity for individually underwritten life insurance flattened in February, off -0.2% year-over-year all ages combined, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. Consistent with seasonal norms, February�s activity was up +9.3% as compared to this past
January.
U.S. activity by age group showed: ages 0-44, off -3.5%; ages 45-59, up +1.2%; and ages 60+, up +11.2% year-over-year. The 45-59 age group continued to show year-over-year growth in February, marking increased activity in ten of the last twelve months. Ages 60+ has exhibited double-digit growth for twelve of the last thirteen months.
| Monthly Percent Change vs. 2009 | |
| February 2010 | -0.2% |
| January 2010 | +1.2% |
| U.S. Monthly Percent Change vs. Prior Month | |
| February 2010 | +9.3% |
| U.S. Monthly Percent Change by Age (year-over-year) |
|||
| Feb. ’10 | Jan. ’10 | Dec. ’09 | |
| 0 – 44 | -3.5% | -2.5% | -0.2% |
| 45- 59 | +1.2% | +2.5% | +3.3% |
| 60 + | +11.2% | +15.2% | +14.3% |
NOTE: Effective January 2010, MIB will suspend publication of the Canadian Life Index. Increased volatility and ongoing market consolidation has created the need to re-examine the method of calculating the MIB Life Index for Canada.
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.
