Close Close
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
ThinkAdvisor
Flames in fire pit

Life Health > Life Insurance > Permanent Life Insurance

U.S. Life Application Activity Heats Up

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

U.S. individual life insurance application activity looked healthier in January, according to new MIB Group survey data.

The insurance data-sharing consortium saw the number of applications flowing through its application-checking systems increase 8.6% from the number recorded in January 2022.

In 2022, the MIB life application activity indicator fell 5.5%, partly because consumer fear of the COVID-19 pandemic made 2021 a boom year for life sales.

The hottest product was universal life — a type of policy often used to accumulate assets, not just to protect beneficiaries against the death of the insured. Universal life application flow was up 21% last month, year over year.

What It Means

Some of the same forces increasing client interest, such as higher interest rates and fear of investment market volatility, might be promoting use of universal life insurance.

Activity by Age

Here are the activity change figures, for January, for applicants in five different age groups:

  • Ages zero-30: +14.1%
  • Ages 31-50: +8.6%
  • Ages 51-60: +4.0%
  • Ages 61-70: +6.1%
  • Ages 71 and older: +8.8%

The Policygenius Price Index

Policygenius, a web broker, uses its own sales data to create a monthly term life price index.

The broker gives average prices for clients who buy 20-year, level-premium term life coverage.

The lowest-priced coverage included is for a 25-year-old female nonsmoker who needs $250,000 in death benefits, and the highest-priced coverage is for a 55-year-old male smoker who needs $1 million in death benefits.

This month, the lowest price in the Policygenius price tables, for the 25-year-old female nonsmoker seeking just $250,000 in coverage, increased 3.2% from the average for January 2022, to $14.36, from $13.90.

The highest price, for the 55-year-old male smoker seeking $1 million in coverage, fell 0.6%, to $1,009.49.

(Image: Jules Zagarola/Adobe Stock)


NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.