The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) Life Index, which measures application activity for individually underwritten life insurance in the United States, found that business was flat last month.

In September applications were only up by 0.1% year over year for all ages combined, although compared to August activity had increased by 7.7%. Results for the third quarter were also lacklustre, with an increase of just 0.6% compared to the same period last year. Year to date, the MIB Index is down 1.7%.

The over 60 age group continues to be the growth area, with the number of insurance applications from people in this demographic increasing by 3.6% in September and by 1.7% year to date. The 0 to 44 and 45 to 59 age groups both lost ground, with applications declining by 2.7% and 1.8% year to date respectively.