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Variable life products are back.
Premium revenue from new U.S. sales of variable universal life insurance increased 15% in the second quarter, and new sales of variable life soared 31%, according to the latest individual life sales figures from LIMRA International, Windsor, Conn.
The variable product increases compare with a 9% average increase for all individual life products.
LIMRA does not release the dollar value of new sales, but the unit sales figures also paint a bright picture of the variable product market.
Although the total number of all individual life policies sold in the U.S. fell 2% during the second quarter, the number of VL policies sold rose 5%, and the number of VUL policies sold jumped 12%.

The number of policies sold fell 1% for both term life and universal life policies.
Results for whole life were weak, with the number of whole life policies sold and premium revenue from new sales dropping 6%.