Growth for ages 31-50
The MIB Life Index is the life insurance industry’s most accurate measure of application activity across the U.S. Access report findings and infographics here.
August 7, 2023–U.S. life insurance application activity Year-over-Year (YOY) was flat at -0.6% in July 2023. When comparing July 2023 to the same month in prior years, activity was down -8.3% compared to 2021, down -13.6% compared to 2020, and down -1.6% compared to 2019. However, on a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, activity through July 2023 was up +3.6% compared to July 2022, down -2.9% compared to 2021, up +2.3% compared to 2020, and up +5.4% compared to 2019.
When looking at age bands, July 2023 saw YOY growth for ages 31-50, flat activity for ages 0-30, and declines for all other ages, with ages 0-30 up +0.9%, ages 31-50 up +3.3%, ages 51-60 down -4.4%, ages 61-70 down -7.9%, and ages 71+ down -6.0%.
When examining YOY activity by face amount, declining activity was seen for amounts up to and including $250K, and all other face amounts saw growth, in the double digits for amounts over $500K. When including age bands, ages 0-30 saw flat activity for amounts up to and including $250K, and growth for all other face amounts, with double-digit growth for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K as well as amounts over $1M. Ages 31-50 saw declines for amounts up to and including $250K, and growth for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $500K. Ages 51-60 saw double-digit declines for amounts up to and including $250K, and growth for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K as well as amounts over $1M. Ages 61-70 saw double-digit declines for amounts up to and including $250K, and double-digit growth for all other face amounts. Ages 71+ saw growth for amounts over $250K up to and including $5M, in the double digits for amounts over $250K up to and including $2.5M and declines for all other face amounts.
July 2023 saw YOY declines for Term Life, growth for Universal Life, and flat activity for Whole Life. Specifically, Term Life was down -1.7%, Universal Life was up +5.5%, and Whole Life flat at +0.6%. Worthy of noting, Universal Life has seen continuous YOY growth since November 2022.
When examining activity by product type and age band, Term Life saw growth for ages 0-30, flat activity for ages 31-50, and declines for ages 51+, in the double digits for ages 61+. Universal Life saw growth for ages 0-50, in the double digits for ages 31-50, flat activity for ages 51-60, and declines for ages 61+. Whole Life saw declines for ages 51-70, in the double digits for ages 51-60, and growth for all other age bands.
