After increasing in 2023, individual life insurance sales in Canada, in terms of number of policies, dropped again in 2024. The life and health insurance industry sold 635,067 individual life insurance policies in 2024, down 5% on the 667,752 policies sold in 2023, according to data prepared by LIMRA exclusively for the Insurance Portal.
The data comes from LIMRA's survey of insurers. The organization enriches these results by estimating the sales of insurers who do not respond to its survey.
The history of this data shows that the downward trend in policies has been ongoing since at least 2010.
That year, the Canadian industry sold 733,941 individual life insurance policies, some 100,000 more than in 2024. Meanwhile, the Canadian population has grown from 33.8 million in 2010 to 41.5 million in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
Term insurance takes a hit
Term life insurance bore the brunt of lower sales in 2024. The 340,077 term policies sold in 2024 represent a 10% drop on the 377,060 term policies sold in 2023. Year after year, term insurance is the one that garners the most sales.
The number of whole life policies sold in 2024 reached 183,282, compared with 182,500 in 2023, an increase of less than one percent.
Sales of universal life policies reached 111,708 in 2024, compared with 108,192 in 2023, an increase of 3%.
The author of several LIMRA surveys, Matthew Rubino explained to Insurance Portal why the number of term policies declined in 2024. “In 2024, middle-income consumers, who are a key market for term insurance and are more sensitive to economic volatility, such as elevated inflation, likely pulled back from spending,” says Rubino. LIMRA's research shows that term sales are more likely to be negatively affected during periods of economic turbulence such as that seen in 2024.
Exceptions
The decline in the total number of policies sold has been observed for several years. There were occasional variations, as in 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns imposed at the start of the pandemic forced the postponement of many insurance cases. As a result, insurers' paramedical subcontractors were unable to take samples or perform tests on prospective customers. The resumption of these services a few months later resulted in an influx of new business.
The year 2023 was also an exception, with sales of 667,752 policies, up 6% on the 631,028 policies sold in 2022. “In 2023, the Canadian economy rebounded from the COVID-induced downturn,” explains Rubino. "As consumers’ memory about the fragility of life was still top of mind, the improved economy gave them the confidence to pursue getting the coverage they recognized they needed. This resulted in strong sales in 2023," adds Rubino.
Premiums on the rise
Since 2010, new annualized premium sales have followed an inverse trend to that of the number of policies. They have risen almost constantly over the years.
As can be seen in the table provided, in terms of premium, individual life insurance sales reached $2.0 billion in 2024, double the $1.0 billion in premium sales achieved in 2010.
Premiums for 2024 represent 7% growth over the $1.9 billion in premiums achieved in 2023.
Whole life dominates
In terms of premiums, whole life far outstrips universal life and term insurance, with $1.4 billion in 2024, representing 10% growth compared with premiums of $1.3 billion in 2023.
Universal life insurance also posted gains. In premiums, its sales reached $256 million in 2024, compared with $248 million in 2023, representing growth of 3%.
Also in premiums, term insurance sales stood at $372 million in 2024, compared with $375 million in 2023, down 1%.
