VUL sales skyrocket in Q1, signaling major market shift

Variable universal life insurance is known for the flexibility it offers clients. According to first-quarter sales numbers from Wink, Inc., clients are embracing the product.

VUL sales were up 15.1% over Q1 2025, Wink reported in its latest Sales & Market Report. Sales began percolating during the fourth quarter, with VUL up 4.3% over the prior-year quarter and up 22.4% over Q3.

Sales are slowest during Q1 and strongest at the end of the year. Total VUL sales for the first quarter were $316.1 million, down 19.1% quarter-over-quarter.

"The market has been on the uptick since the beginning of April," said Sheryl Moore, CEO of Wink, Inc. and Moore Market Intelligence. "This translates to improved sales of variable UL."

VUL is a permanent life insurance policy that combines a death benefit with an investment component. Policies can be customized with specific riders to provide coverage for needs such as long-term care.

Items of interest in the VUL market included Prudential retaining the No. 1 ranking in sales, with a 36.2% market share; Pacific Life Companies, Nationwide, RiverSource Life and John Hancock completed the top five, respectively.

Pruco Life’s PruLife Custom Premier II was the No. 1 selling VUL product, for all channels combined, for the quarter. The top primary pricing objective for sales this quarter was cash accumulation, capturing 63.4% of sales. The average VUL target premium for the quarter was $23,161, a decline of nearly 10% from the prior quarter.

Overall life sales up 8%

All life insurance sales for the first quarter were more than $2.9 billion, down 9.7% compared to the previous quarter and up 8.1% compared to the same period last year. All life sales include fixed universal life, indexed UL, variable UL, indexed whole life, whole life and term life product sales.

Noteworthy highlights for total life insurance sales of all products in the first quarter included Prudential ranking as No. 1 in overall sales for all life insurance sales, with a market share of 5.6%. Americo’s Eagle Select, a whole life product, was the No. 1 selling product for all life insurance sales, for all channels combined, for the quarter.

All universal life sales for the first quarter were $1.1 billion, down 16% compared to the previous quarter and up 4.3% compared to the same period last year. All universal life sales include fixed UL, indexed UL and variable UL product sales.

Noteworthy highlights for all universal life sales in the first quarter included Prudential ranking as No. 1 in overall sales for all universal life products, with a market share of 11.2%. Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest’s FlexLife, an indexed universal life product, was the No. 1 selling product for all universal life sales, for all channels combined, for the quarter.

Non-variable universal life sales for the first quarter were $851.9 million, down 15.2% when compared to the previous quarter and up less than 1% compared to the same period last year. Non-variable universal life sales include both fixed UL and indexed UL product sales.

Noteworthy highlights for total non-variable universal life sales in the first quarter included National Life Group retaining the No. 1 overall sales ranking for non-variable universal life sales, with a market share of 13.8%. Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest’s FlexLife, an indexed universal life product, was the No. 1 selling product for non-variable universal life sales, for all channels combined, for the quarter.

Fixed universal life sales for the first quarter were $65.2 million, down 25.9% compared to the previous quarter and down 18% compared to the same period last year.

Items of interest in the fixed UL market included Nationwide retaining its No. 1 ranking in fixed universal life sales, with a 22.8% market share; Pacific Life Companies, John Hancock, Protective Life Companies and Penn Mutual completed the top five, respectively.

Nationwide’s Nationwide CareMatters II was the No. 1 selling fixed universal life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the quarter. The top primary pricing objective of no lapse guarantee captured 33.0% of sales. The average fixed UL target premium for the quarter was $6,826, a decline of more than 22% from the prior quarter.

“Universal life sales have never been this low,” Moore said. “It is just getting more difficult to justify the sales of these products, when indexed life has a relatively stronger value proposition.”

Indexed life sales for the first quarter were $789.5 million, down 14% compared with the previous quarter, and up 2.8% compared to the same period last year. Indexed life sales include both indexed UL and indexed whole life.

Items of interest in the indexed life market included National Life Group retaining its No. 1 ranking in indexed life sales, with a 14.7% market share; Pacific Life Companies, John Hancock, Nationwide, and Fidelity and Guaranty Life rounded out the top five, respectively.

Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest’s FlexLife was the No. 1 selling indexed life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the quarter. The top primary pricing objective for sales in the quarter was cash accumulation, capturing 74.7% of sales. The average indexed life target premium for the quarter was $12,922, a decline of nearly 3% from the prior quarter.

Whole life first quarter sales were over $1.2 billion, down 3.6% compared with the previous quarter, and up 22.6% compared to the same period last year. Items of interest in the whole life market included the top primary pricing objective of final expense, capturing 72.4% of sales. The average premium per whole life policy for the quarter was $3,860, a decline of more than 19% from the prior quarter.

Term life first-quarter sales were $521.8 million, down 7.6% when compared with the previous quarter and down 9.7% compared to the same period last year.

Items of interest in the term life market include Prudential ranking as No. 1 in term life sales, with a 6.5% market share. Pacific Life Companies, Protective Life Companies, Corebridge Financial, and National Life Group completed the top five, respectively.

Protective Life Classic Choice Term 20 was the No. 1 selling term life insurance product, for all channels combined, for the quarter. The average annual term life premium per policy reported for the quarter was $1,905, a decline of nearly 29% from the previous quarter.

Wink now reports sales on all annuity lines of business, as well as all life insurance product lines.

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.