Life Application Activity Declines 1.9% In August
September 12, 2013 by MIB Life Index
Braintree, MA. (September 10, 2013) – U.S. application activity for individually underwritten life insurance declined 1.9% in August, year-over-year, all ages combined, according to the MIB Life Index. August numbers were bolstered slightly by insurance applications gathered in one fewer business day (22) than the August 2012 comparative period (23). After declining in seven of the past eight months, the MIB Life Index is down -2.3% year-to-date. August application activity rose +1.5% from that of July; seasonal monthly growth for this period that may hint at stronger fourth quarter trends. Fourth quarter 2011 to first quarter 2012 growth has given way to a slowdown in application activity for 2013.
U.S application activity for individually underwritten life insurance by age group showed continued declines in ages 45 and below in August. Ages 0-44 were off -2.6%, ages 45-59 were off -2.2%, with slight year-over-year growth in ages 60+, up +1.0%. Year-to-date, ages 0-44 are off -2.6%, ages 45-59 are off -3.2%, and ages 60+ remain flat at +0.2% compared to the same eight month period last year. Older age applicants (60+) continue to purchase fewer policies, a possible impact of the IRS finalizing the estate tax ceiling at $5 million at the end of 2012.
Additional 2013 Life Index metrics are available with registration from www.mibsolutions.com/loginLI (register at www.mibsolutions.com/regLI) along with the MIB Life Index Annual Reports.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Monthly Percent Change (year-over-year) | |
| August 2013 | + 1.5% |
About the MIB Life Index The MIB Life Index is the life insurance industry’s timeliest measure of application activity in the United States. Released to the media each month, the Index is based on the number of searches. MIB 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. For past releases, methodology or to subscribe visit www.mibgroup.com/lifeindex.
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 assessment. MIB, Inc. and MIB Solutions, Inc. are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the MIB Group, Inc. (www.mibgroup.com).
