The latest statistics from LIMRA show that Canadian life insurance premiums increased in the second quarter of 2025 – the fifth consecutive quarter of growth. New annualized premium grew five per cent year-over-year to $532-million.
“In the first six months of 2025, total new annualized premium rose nine per cent to $1.04-billion and policy count improved two per cent,” LIMRA states in an announcement about the publication of its Canadian Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey results.
All product lines experienced year-over-year growth in the second quarter. Permanent products lead the way, posting the highest gains, notes LIMRA. “Historically, consumers often turn to permanent life insurance products for steady, guaranteed returns and principal protection,” Nancy Moussa, associate research director with LIMRA said in a statement. “LIMRA expects this trend to continue through 2025.”
Whole life dominates
Whole life new premium represented 68 per cent of the life insurance market in Canada in the first six months of 2025, while universal life premium represented 13 per cent. Term life products held 19 per cent of total Canadian new annualized premium in the first half of the year.
Participating whole life product sales drove most of the overall whole life premium growth in the first half of 2025 while non-level cost-of-insurance products drove universal life sales.
Broken down, whole life new premium was $363.5-million, six per cent above the second quarter in 2024. Universal life new annualized premium grew five per cent to $69.4-million and term life new premium rose two per cent, year-over-year to $99.3-million.
