September 6, 2022
U.S. life insurance application activity declined in August 2022 compared to August 2021, with Year-over-Year (YOY) activity down -4.9%. However, when comparing August 2022 to the same month in prior years, activity was flat +0.3% compared to 2020 and up +4.1% compared to 2019. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, activity through August 2022 was down -6.1% compared to August 2021. When taking a historical lookback, August 2022 YTD activity was flat compared to August 2020 at -1.1% and up compared to 2019 at +2.0%. On a Month-over-Month (MOM) basis, August 2022 was up +8.9% compared to July 2022, following a normal seasonal trend.
Continuing a pattern seen all year, ages 71+ significantly outpaced all other age bands in growth at +7.7%. Additionally, August saw the first month in 2022 where age 61-70 was also at growth at +1.9%. Activity for all other ages declined, with ages 0-30 down -4.0%, ages 31-50 down -8.8%, and ages 51-60 down -5.4%, respectively.
When examining YOY activity by face amounts, growth was seen for face amount over $1M up to and including $2.5M. Face amounts over $250K up to and including $500K and amounts over $2.5M up to and including $5M saw flat activity and all other face amounts saw declines. On a YTD basis, all face amounts experienced declines in August.
When examining YOY activity by age bands, ages 0-30 saw declining activity for amounts up to and including $250K and growth for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $5M. Ages 31-50 saw YOY declines for face amounts up to and including $1M, in the double digits for amounts up to and including $250K, growth for face amounts over $1M up to and including $2.5M and amounts over $5M, and flat activity for amounts over $2.5M up to and including $5M. Ages 51-60 saw YOY growth for amounts over $2.5M up to and including $5M, flat activity for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K and amounts over $1M up to and including $2.5M, and declines for all other face amounts. Ages 61-70 saw YOY growth for face amounts up to and including $500K and declines for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $500K up to and including $1M and amounts over $2.5M. Ages 71+ saw double-digit YOY growth for face amounts up to and including $250K, double-digit declines for amounts over $250K up to and including $5M, and growth for amounts over $5M.
August 2022 saw declining YOY activity for all product types with Term Life down -2.1%, Universal Life down -8.5%, and Whole Life down -9.6%. Term Life saw growth for ages 0-30 and ages 71+, declining activity for ages 31-60 and flat activity for ages 61-70. Universal Life saw growth for ages 61+ and declining activity for all other age bands, in the double digits for ages 31-50. Whole Life saw growth for ages 71+ and declining activity for all other age bands, with double-digit declines for ages 0-50.
Provide us with your contact information and we will email you when the latest Life Index report is available.
Watch our video for additional insights into application activity by age band and face amount, based on data reported to MIB by our members, as a supplement to the 2022 MIB Life Index Mid-Year Report.
Copyright © 2023 MIB Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.