Although month to month, the number of life insurance applications reported to MIB Group Inc. have decreased, the company says this is a common seasonal pattern. Focusing on year-to-date activity and year-over-year activity, application activity was up notably in May 2026.
Year-over-year, activity was up 8.5 per cent in May 2026 when compared with May 2025 figures. Year-to-date application activity grew 14 per cent. Month-over-month, activity was down 7.6 per cent in May when compared to April 2026.
“Ages 30+ experienced year-over-year growth in May, in the double digits for ages 60+ and ages zero to 29 saw declines,” MIB’s researchers write in the May 2026 MIB Life Index report.
Year-over-year, activity among those under age 29 was down 6.9 per cent. Among those between 60 and 69, application activity grew a notable 30.4 per cent, while applications for those over age 75 jumped 75.5 per cent.
“(On a) Year-to-date basis, ages 30+ also saw growth, in the double digits for ages 50+, while ages zero to 29 saw declines. The year-over-year and year-to-date results are reflective of a consistent pattern seen since September 2025 where growth increases as age increases,” they add.
Growth across all product types included a 26.8 per cent jump in applications for term life in May (year-over-year), 40.2 per cent for universal life and 8.8 per cent for whole life.
“Term life saw year-over-year double-digit growth for all age bands. Universal life saw year-over-year declines for ages zero to 39 and growth for all other age bands, in the double digits for ages 50 to 69 and in the triple digits for ages 70+. Whole life saw year-over-year growth for all ages, in the double digits for ages 50+,” they conclude.
