The latest reading of the MIB Life Index, published by Massachusetts-based MIB Group Inc., shows that Canadian life insurance application activity overall grew in the double-digits in February 2026 when compared with February 2025. Year-over-year, application activity jumped 17.4 per cent; month-over-month, February was up 11.6 per cent when compared with January’s figures.

All age bands over 30 saw year-over-year growth, in the double digits among those between ages 50 and 69 and in the triple digits for those over age 70. Year-over-year activity was down 4.1 per cent for those up to age 29, ages 60 to 69 jumped 60.2 per cent and applications for those over age 70 shot up 108.3 per cent. “These results are reflective of a consistent pattern seen since May 2025 where growth increases as age increases,” they write.

By product type, MIB reports term life applications rising 14.2 per cent year-over-year, whole life applications were up 28.6 per cent and universal life policy applications jumped 74.4 per cent in February.

Broken down by age bands, term life saw year-over-year double digit growth in application activity for those over age 30 and declines for those aged 29 and under. Whole life saw year-over-year double digit growth across all age bands. Universal life saw double digit growth, year-over-year, in applications made for those between 40 and 59, triple digit growth for those over age 60 and declines in the applications made for those under age 39.

Did you know?

In a lot of cases, a single client can generate multiple application requests. MIB says activity in its MIB Life Index is based on inquiries performed by member company underwriters to the MIB Checking Service. “To the extent an application goes through the underwriting process and the underwriter performs this check, it would be included in our data,” MIB’s representatives explained in response to the Insurance Portal’s inquiries.

They add that each inquiry made to the checking services by an insurance carrier is counted as a unique application. “While there are instances of applicants applying to multiple insurance carriers and only placing one policy, there are also instances of clients applying to multiple insurance carriers and placing multiple policies, thus why each inquiry is counted individually.”