Braintree, MA. � (April 10, 2010) U.S. application activity for individually underwritten life insurance increased +2.4% in March year-over-year all ages combined, according to the MIB Life Indexsm. March�s results heralded continued expansion for individual life insurance applications, a trend which started last July. Year-over-year growth in March is uncommon and has not been observed for six years. At the close of the first quarter, year-to-date activity is up +1.3% compared to the same period last year. March activity was off slightly -0.8% as compared to February 2010.
For March 2010, the U.S. MIB Life Index by age group showed: ages 0-44, off -1.6%; ages 45-59, up +4.6%; and ages 60+, up +15.5% year-over-year. The 45-59 age group broke away from past losses in June 2009 and has since shown 10 consecutive monthly, year-overyear increases. Growth in older age applications, 60+ has been seen since April 2007.
| U.S. Monthly Percent Change vs. 2009 | |
|---|---|
| March 2010 | +2.4% |
| February 2010 | -0.2% |
| Q1 2010 | +1.3% |
| U.S. Monthly Percent Change vs. Prior Month | |
|---|---|
| March 2010 | -0.8% |
| U.S. Monthly Percent Change by Age (year-over-year) | |||
| Mar. ’10 | Feb. ’10 | Jan. ’10 | |
| 0 – 44 | -1.6% | -3.5% | -2.5% |
| 45 – 59 | +4.6% | +1.2% | +2.5% |
| 60 + | +15.5% | +11.2% | +15.2% |
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.
