MIB Life Index

Canadian Life Insurance Application Activity Returns to Growth in January 2023

Growth for ages 31+

February 6, 2023

Canadian life insurance application activity saw growth of +5.7% Year-over-Year (YOY) in January 2023 compared to January 2022, reflecting the first month of YOY growth since August 2022. On a Month-Over-Month (MOM) basis, January 2023 activity grew by +11.8% compared to December 2022.

January saw Year-Over-Year (YOY) growth for ages 31+, in the double digits for ages 51-70, and flat activity for ages 0-30. Specifically, activity for ages 0-30 was flat at +0.8%, ages 31-50 up +5.7%, ages 51-60 up +10.4%, ages 61-70 up +13.2%, and ages 71+ up +4.4%.

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

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

About 33% of total Life Index volume for Canada in January 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 -2.5% YOY for Canada in January 2023.

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MIB Life Index
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