Canadian life insurance application activity again saw double-digit growth in August 2026, with Year-over-Year (YOY) activity up +12.1% compared to August 2025. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, activity through August was also up in the double digits at +14.2%. On a Month-over-Month (MOM) basis, August 2026 was down -1.9% compared to July 2026.

Ages 30+ experienced YOY growth in August 2026, in the double digits for ages 60+, and ages 0-29 saw declines. August YOY activity for ages 0-29 was down -1.6%, ages 30-39 up +2.3%, ages 40-49 up +5.7%, ages 50-59 up +5.5%, ages 60-69 up +30.0%, and ages 70+ up +94.8%. On a YTD basis, ages 30+ saw growth, in the double digits for ages 50+, while ages 0-29 saw declines. YTD activity for ages 0-29 was down -4.1%, for ages 30-39 up +2.9%, ages 40-49 up +6.4%, ages 50-59 up +12.3%, ages 60-69 up +43.0% and for ages 70+ up 94.5%.

When examining activity by face amount, based on data reported to MIB by our members, August 2026 saw YOY growth for all face amounts, in the double digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $250K, from $500K up to but not including $1M, and from $2.5M up to but not including $5M.

When including age bands, ages 0-29 saw double-digit growth for amounts from $500K up to but not including $1M, flat activity for amounts from $1M up to but not including $2.5M, and declines for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts $2.5M and over. Ages 30-39 saw growth for amounts from $250K up to but not including $1M, and $2.5M and over, in the double digits for amounts from $500K up to but not including $1M and $5M and over, flat activity for amounts from $1M up to but not including $2.5M, and declines for all other face amounts. Ages 40-49 saw growth for amounts up to but not including $5M, in the double digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $100K, from $250K up to but not including $1M, and from $2.5M up to but not including $5M, and declines for amounts over $5M. Ages 50-59 saw growth for amounts from $1 up to but not including $500K, and amounts from $1M up to but not including $5M, in the double digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $100K and from $2.5M up to but not including $5M, and flat activity for all other face amounts. Ages 60-69 saw growth for all face amounts, in the double digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $250K, from $500K up to but not including $1M and $2.5M and over. Ages 70+ saw growth for all face amounts, in the triple digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $250K, and in the double digits for amounts $250K and over. On a YTD basis, activity was flat for face amounts from $1M up to but not including $2.5M and at growth for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $250K and for amounts $5M and over.

Based on information reported to MIB by our members, August 2026 saw YOY double-digit growth for Term Life and Universal Life and declines for Whole Life. Term Life was up +31.2% YOY, Universal Life was up +40.6%, and Whole Life was down -5.0%. Term Life saw double-digit YOY growth for all age bands. Universal Life saw YOY flat activity for ages 0-29, and growth for all other age bands, in the double digits for ages 40-49 and 60-69, and in the triple digits for ages 70+. Whole Life saw YOY growth for ages 60+, in the double-digits for ages 70+, flat activity for ages 0-29, and declines for ages 30-59, in the double digits for ages 30-39. On a YTD basis, all product types saw double-digit growth.

Methodology Change for 2026:

MIB has revised our methodology to fine tune our age and face amount bands to better meet industry needs, while also incorporating more precise filtering to isolate new business application activity and define applicant country. Please see the main MIB Life Index page on our website for details on our methodology change. All historical data in this report has been restated based on our new methodology, however, historical reports archived on our website reflect the methodology in place at the time of publication.