U.S. life insurance activity down in 2022, MIB finds

Following record breaking growth in 2020 and 2021, U.S. life insurance application activity finished 2022 with year-to-date (YTD) activity down -5.5%, according to the MIB Life Index. When taking a historical lookback, total activity YTD for 2022 was down -2.3% compared to 2020 and flat at +1.5% compared to 2019.

2022 saw YOY flat or declining activity in all months, with May and November flat while all other months saw declining activity, in the double digits for April. However, the YOY figures are in comparison to reccord breaking growth seen in February, March and April of 2021.

Activity for ages 71+ ended 2022 at growth while all other age bands showed declines. Activity for ages 0-30 was down -6.0% YTD, ages 31-50 down -6.3%, ages 51-60 down -5.9%, ages 61-70 down -4.2%, and for ages 71+ up +2.1%. From January through Q3 of 2022, ages 71+ outperformed all other age bands in monthly YOY growth. In November we saw a shift, with YOY growth for ages 31-50 outpacing other age bands. December then saw declines across all age bands, with ages 0-30, 31-50 and 71+ experiencing similar results ranging from -3.4% to -3.7% YOY and ages 51-60 and 61-70 with declines of -5.6% and -6.0% respectively.

Face amount over $1M up to and including $2.5M saw flat activity in 2022, while all other face amounts saw declining activity. When examining age bands, activity for ages 0-30 ended 2022 YTD at growth for face amounts over $250K, in the double digits for amounts over $5M, and declined for amounts up to and including $250K. Ages 31-50 saw YTD flat activity for amounts over $1M up to and including $5M, and declining activity for all other face amounts. Ages 51-60 saw YTD flat activity for amounts over $500K up to and including $2.5M, and declining activity for all other face amounts. Ages 61-70 saw annual YTD declines for all face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $1M. Ages 71+ saw annual YTD growth for amounts up to and including $250K and declining activity for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $2.5M up to and including $5M. It is interesting to note when looking specifically at Q4 2022 activity, face amounts over $1M up to and including $5M showed growth YOY compared to Q4 2021, while amounts over up to $250K showed declines, amounts over $5M showed double digit declines, and all other face amounts showed flat activity.

2022 ended the year with declines across all product types YTD, in the double digits for Whole Life. Term was down -4.0% YTD, Universal Life down -3.9%, Whole Life down -12.7%. Term Life saw flat activity YTD for ages 0-30, and declines for all other age bands, in the double digits for ages 71+. Universal Life saw flat activity for ages 0-30 and 71+ and declines for all other age bands. Whole Life saw declines across all age bands, in the double digits for ages 0-60. It is interesting to note when looking specifically at Q4 2022 activity compared to Q4 2021, Term Life and Universal Life showed growth of +2.1% and +2.3% respectively, while Whole Life saw a decline of -12.4%.