MIB Life Index Reports U.S. Life Insurance Activity off -2.5% in September

BRAINTREE, Mass., Oct. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was down -2.5% in September, year-over-year, all ages combined, according to the MIB Life Index.  Third quarter results show life applications continuing to lose ground as compared to same quarter last year, off -2.3%, Q3 2013 / Q3 2012, although the pace of decline is somewhat diminished from the second quarter's losses, off -3.3%, Q2 2013 / Q2 2012. September's life insurance application activity was +8.3% higher than that of August 2013, consistent with fall sales cycles.

Life insurance application activity declined across all three age groups in September, with ages 0-44 off -3.0%, ages 45-59 off -2.8%, and ages 60+ down slightly at -0.3%.  At the close of the third quarter, life insurance application activity is off by -2.6%, ages 0-44; off -3.2%, ages 45-59; and ages 60+ remained flat at +0.2% year-to-date. The proportion of declining activity by age group is consistent with past trends—sharper declines in younger ages than those for ages 60+.   

Additional MIB Life Index metrics are available with registration from www.mibsolutions.com/loginLI (register at www.mibsolutions.com/regLI) including MIB Life Index Annual Reports.

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).

Contact:
David O. Aronson 
MIB Group, Inc. 
781-751-6330
[email protected]

SOURCE MIB Group, Inc.