Canadian life insurance application activity continued to grow in February, with Year-over-Year (YOY) activity up +3.9% compared to February 2022. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, activity through February 2023 was up +4.8% compared to February 2022. On a Month-Over-Month (MOM) basis, February 2023 activity saw growth by +15.4% compared to January 2023, representing the second month in a row of double-digit MOM growth.

February saw Year-Over-Year (YOY) growth for ages 0-60, flat activity for ages 61-70, and declines for ages 71+. Activity for ages 0-30 was up +4.2%, ages 31-50 up +4.2%, ages 51-60 up +5.7%, ages 61-70 flat at +1.3%, and ages 71+ down -6.9%. On a YTD basis, ages 0-70 saw growth, while ages 71+ saw declining activity. Through February ages 0-30 was up +2.5% YTD, ages 31-50 up +4.9%, ages 51-60 up +8.0%, ages 61-70 up +7.0%, and ages 71+ flat at -1.5%.

February saw YOY growth for amounts over $500K, in the double digits for amounts over $1M up to and including $2.5M as well as amounts over $5M (> +60%), flat activity for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K, and declines for amounts up to and including $250K. On a YTD basis, face amounts over $250K were at growth, in the double digits for amounts over $1M, and amounts up to and including $250K showed flat activity through February.

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

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

About 34% of total Life Index volume for Canada in February 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 can have a significant impact on the Canadian analysis. Growth varies when looking solely at submissions identified as Life Insurance products, with activity down -6.0% YOY for Canada in February 2023 and down -4.3% YTD.