Canadian life insurance application activity saw double-digit growth in August 2023 with Year-over-Year (YOY) activity up +10.6% compared to August 2022, representing the fourth consecutive month of YOY growth and second month of double-digit growth. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, activity through August 2023 was up +5.4% compared to through August 2022. On a Month-Over-Month (MOM) basis, August 2023 activity saw double-digit of +13.0% compared to July 2023.

August 2023 saw Year-Over-Year (YOY) growth for all age bands, in the double digits for ages 61+. Activity for ages 0-30 was up +7.8%, ages 31-50 up +5.8%, ages 51-60 up +8.4%, ages 61-70 up +31.2%, and ages 71+ up +83.9%. It is important to note that while the percentage increases for ages 71+ are high, less than 4% of total application volume for Canada was reported to be for ages 71+. On a YTD basis, all age bands saw growth, in the double digits for ages 61+.

August 2023 saw YOY growth or flat activity across all face amounts. Amounts over $250K up to and including $500K showed flat activity, while all other face amounts showed growth, in the double digits for amounts up to and including $250K as well and amounts over $1M. On a YTD basis, amounts over $250K up to and including $500K showed flat activity, and all other face amounts showed growth, in the double digits for amounts over $1M.

When including age bands, ages 0-30 saw declines for face amounts over $500K up to and including $2.5M, in the double digits for amounts over $1M up to and including $2.5M, and growth for all other face amounts, in the double-digits for amounts up to and including $250K and amounts over $2.5 up to and including $5M, and in the triple digits for amounts over $5M. Ages 31-50 saw YOY declines for amounts up to and including $250K, flat activity for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K, and growth for all other face amounts, in the double-digits for amounts over $500K up to and including $2.5M. Ages 51-60 saw double-digits declines for amounts over $500K up to and including $1M and growth for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts up to and including $250K as well as for amounts over $5M. Ages 61-70 saw double-digit declines for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K and double-digit growth for all other face amounts. Ages 71+ saw double-digit declines for amounts over $5M, and growth for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $1M up to and including $5M, and in the triple digits for amounts up to and including $250K.

When examining activity patterns where a product type was submitted to MIB, Universal Life and Whole Life saw double-digit YOY growth in August, while Term Life saw double-digit declines. When including age bands, Universal Life saw YOY declines for ages 0-30, double-digit growth for ages 31-60, and triple-digit growth for ages 61+. Whole Life saw YOY growth for ages 0-70, in the double digits for ages 0-50, and declines for ages 71+. Term Life showed double-digit YOY declines for ages 0-70 and growth for ages 71+.

About 32% of total Life Index volume for Canada in August 2023 did not include a product type. We believe the vast majority of these submissions are for Life Insurance applications and have included them in the composite analysis presented in this report. Missing product type information has a significant impact on the Canadian analysis. Growth varies when looking solely at submissions identified as Life Insurance products, with activity for Canada up +4.8% YOY in August 2023 and down -3.8% YTD.