Following an uninspiring 2019 where life insurance application volume rose only 0.4 per cent year-to-date, the MIB Life Index rose 2.5 per cent year-over-year in January, thanks largely to buying activity on the part of younger age clients.
All age groups measured by the MIB Life Index showed growth in January with life insurance application activity rising 3.4 per cent among those ages 0-44. Life insurance application activity was flat at 0.1 per cent for those between 45 and 59, and application activity among those over age 60 increased 3.4 per cent year-over-year.
Comparatively speaking, the numbers are an improvement over 2019’s year-to-date numbers reported for the youngest age group, and a notable decline relative to the year-to-date numbers reported in the 60+ age category. In 2019, application activity among those between 0 and 44 years of age declined 3.3 per cent and increased 10.1 per cent for those over age 60. Application activity among those between 45 and 59 was relatively flat, rising just 0.9 per cent during the year.
Across the board, this month’s numbers are also an improvement over December’s numbers where sales to those between 0 and 44 years of age fell 4.2 per cent, declined 3.8 per cent for those between 45 and 59 years of age, and declined just 0.1 per cent for those over age 60. All told, January’s activity was up 7.3 per cent from December, an unprecedented jump, MIB says, for January month-over-month numbers.
