Applications for life insurance in the United States increased by more than 5% during the first three months of 2016 compared to the same period last year. Once again, much of the growth was the result of sales to those under the age of 44.
On April 7, the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) released its Life Index numbers for the first quarter of 2016. The index tracks application activity for individually underwritten life insurance in the US, and it reveals that the overall demand for coverage was up by 5.4% compared to Q1 2015. For the month of March, the number of applications increased by 4.9% year-over-year for all ages combined.
Applications up for all age groups
While application activity was up in all age groups, MIB notes that this is the fourth consecutive quarter in which the growth in applications from those under the age of 44 exceeded all others. "In March, application activity ages 0-44 was up 6.5%, ages 45-59 was up 3.1%, and ages 60+ was up 2.9%, year-over-year," reads the report. "At the close of Q1-2016, individually underwritten life insurance applications ages 0-44 were up 6.9%, ages 45-59 were up 3.5% and ages 60+ were up 3.6% as compared to the same quarter last year."
