Following two months of growth or flat activity, Canadian life insurance application activity declined 2.7 per cent year-over-year in October 2022, according to the latest MIB Life Index measuring Canadian life insurance application activity.
According to the latest research from Massachusetts-based MIB Group Inc., year-to-date activity through October 2022 also remains down 7.8 per cent when compared to the same period in 2021. Month-over-month activity also declined during the month, dropping 4.9 per cent when compared to applications made in September 2022.
By face amount, the industry saw double digit declines year over year in October for face amounts up to and including $250,000, flat activity for amounts over that figure, up to and including face amounts for $500,000, and double-digit growth for all other face amounts.
The firm adds that when it examines activity patterns where product types were submitted to MIB, it found that universal life products enjoyed year-over-year growth in October while term life and whole life saw declining activity. Broken down, universal life saw double digit year-over-year growth up to age 70 and double-digit declines for application activity among those over age 71. Whole life saw year-over-year declines for all age bands, in the double digits for ages 71 and over. Term life product application activity was flat up to age 30, it declined among those between ages 31 and 60, and grew among those over age 61, in the double digits for those 71 and above.
The firm adds that about 32 per cent of the total index volume for Canada in October did not include a product type.
The monthly percentage change for the composite index was 3.3 per cent growth in term, universal and whole life application activity in October 2022. When MIB considers and includes applications where the product is unknown, this number drops to a decline of 2.7 per cent.
