LIMRA statistics on the Canadian insurance industry are out, showing that new annualized premium in the first quarter of 2025 jumped 13 per cent, year-over-year to $508-million. Overall, the number of policies sold increased two per cent when compared with results from the first quarter of 2024, according to the LIMRA Canadian Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey.
“Whole life and universal life product sales experienced remarkably strong growth in the first quarter, largely driven by the independent sales channel performance. Collectively, whole life and universal life represent more than 80 per cent of the total market,” says Nancy Moussa, associate research director, LIMRA product research.
Policy count declined
Broken down, whole life premiums were up 15 per cent in the first quarter to $346.7-million, the third consecutive quarter of whole life premium growth and the second consecutive quarter where premium grew by double digits. “Policy count, however, fell two per cent in the quarter. Whole life premium represented 68 per cent of the life insurance market in Canada.”
Universal life new annualized premium also grew 15 per cent in the first quarter, year-over-year, to $67.3-million. LIMRA says growth was primarily driven by non-level cost of insurance products which made up 81 per cent of total universal life premium. “Policy count improved four per cent, year-over-year. Universal life premium represented 13 per cent of the total Canadian new annualized premium in the first quarter.”
Finally, term life new annualized premium jumped six per cent to $94.4-million. They say the number of policies sold shot up five per cent when compared with the prior year’s results. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, term products held 19 per cent market share of total new annualized premium in Canada.
