U.S. life insurance application activity saw another record-breaking month in August 2026, with double-digit Year-over-Year (YOY) growth at +18.0% compared to August 2025, the highest YOY growth rate for any August on record. On a Year-to-Date basis (YTD), activity through August 2026 also showed double-digit growth, up +15.6% compared to August 2025. When taking a historical lookback comparing August YTD 2026 to the same month in prior years, activity was up +19.6% vs 2024 and up +20.6% compared to 2023. On a Month-over-Month (MOM) basis, August 2026 saw flat activity by -0.6% compared to July.

August 2026 saw YOY growth in all age bands, in the double digits for ages 40+, and continuing to follow a pattern seen throughout 2026 where growth increases as age increases. Activity for ages 0-29 was up +3.5%, ages 30-39 up +5.3%, ages 40-49 up +13.5%, ages 50-59 up +22.9%, ages 60-69 up +34.4%, and ages 70+ up +53.9%. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, activity through August 2026 saw growth for ages 30+, in double digits for ages 40+, with flat activity for ages 0-29. August YTD activity for ages 0-29 was flat at +0.7%, ages 31-39 up +5.7%, ages 40-49 up +14.0%, ages 50-59 up +22.4%, ages 60-69 up +30.0%, and ages 70+ up +48.0%.

Based on information reported to MIB by our members, all face amounts saw YOY growth in August 2026, in the double digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $250K, and for amounts from $1M up to but not including $5M. Additionally, when comparing YTD activity through August 2026, all face amounts also saw growth, in the double digits for amounts from $1 up to but not including $250K and from $500K up to but not including $2.5M, and in the triple digits for amounts from $2.5M up to but not including $5M.

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

Based on information reported to MIB by our members, August 2026 saw YOY growth across all product types, in the double digits for Term Life and Whole Life. Term Life was up +24.7% YOY, Whole Life was up +23.3%, and Universal Life was up at +8.3%. Term Life saw YOY double-digit growth across all age bands. Whole Life and Universal Life both saw YOY growth for ages 40+, in the double digits for ages 50+, and declines for ages 0-39. Additionally, when comparing YTD activity through August 2026, 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.

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