U.S. life insurance application activity ended Q1-2024 flat at +0.3% Year-to-Date (YTD), with activity in March down -6.6% Year-over-Year (YOY) compared to March 2023 following 5 months of growth or flat activity. The YOY decline may have been driven, in part, by fewer business days in March of 2024 (21 business days) vs March of 2023 (23 business days). When comparing average inquiries per business day, March 2024 saw YOY growth over 2023. When comparing activity through Q1-2024 YTD to prior years, activity was up +5.2% compared to 2022 and was flat at -0.7% compared to 2021. Additionally, activity for Q1-2024 was up +8.1% compared to the previous quarter (Q4-2023).

March 2024 saw YOY declines for all age bands compared to March 2023. When comparing Q1-2024 to Q1-2023, ages 0-30 was flat at -0.4%, ages 31-50 up +2.5%, ages 51-60 down -2.8%, ages 61-70 down -2.5%, and ages 71+ up +2.5%. It is worth noting that while year-over-year comparisons show mixed results across age bands for Q1-2024, when comparing activity to the previous quarter (Q4-2023), all age bands saw growth, in the double digits for ages 0-30 and 71+.

March 2024 saw YOY declines for face amounts up to and including $250K, flat activity for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K, and growth for amounts over $500K, in the double digits for amounts over $1M up to and including $5M. When comparing Q1-2024 to Q1-2023, we saw declines for amounts up to and including $250K and growth across all face amounts over $250K, in the double digits for amounts over $1M.

When including age bands comparing Q1-2024 to Q1-2023, ages 0-30 saw growth for face amounts over $250K up to and including $5M, in the double digits for amounts over $1M up to and including $5M and declines for all other face amounts. Ages 31-50 saw declines for amounts up to and including $250K and growth across all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $1M. Ages 51-60 saw declines for amounts up to and including $250K and double-digit growth across all face amounts above $250K. Ages 61-70 saw declines for amounts up to and including $250K, and growth across all face amounts over $250K, in the double digits for amounts over $250K up to and including $2.5M and for amounts over $5M. Ages 71+ saw growth for all face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $250K up to and including $1M and for amounts over $5M.

Term Life experienced YOY declines in March, while Whole Life was flat and Universal Life saw double digit declines. Additionally, when comparing Q1-2024 to Q1-2023, Term and Whole Life experienced growth, while Universal Life showed declines. Term Life saw growth of +1.8%, Whole Life saw growth of +2.6%, and Universal Life saw declines of -6.9%. When including age bands and comparing Q1-2024 to Q1-2023, Term Life saw growth for ages 0-60, and double-digit declines for ages 61+. Whole Life saw declines for ages 0-30, flat activity for ages 31-50, declines for ages 51-60, and double-digit growth for ages 61+. Universal Life saw declines for ages 0-30, flat activity for ages 31-50, and double-digit declines for ages 51+.