Life Insurance Activity Declines 1.5% In August

Braintree, MA. — U.S. individually underwritten life insurance activity moderated in August but still showed weakness with the MIB Life Index composite down -1.5%, year-over-year. With year-over-year losses across every month of 2017, August’s decline showed restraint compared to February's -4.5% decline and March's -6.0% decline. Application activity improved year-to-date by tenths with the composite Index now off -2.9% YTD. August application activity increased 0.4% from that of July 2017, signaling nascent growth for this time period.

U.S. life insurance application activity was mixed across three all age groups in August; the first time since last April where all three groups did not exhibit declines. Ages 0-44 were up slightly at 0.2%, ages 45-59 once again showed the sharpest declines at -4.0%, and ages 60+ were off
-2.6% compared to same month last year. Year-to-date, application activity ages 0-44 are off
-1.8% YTD, ages 45-59 are off -5.3% YTD, and ages 60+ are off -2.4% YTD. Younger age application activity (0-44) continues to show some promise in an otherwise declining environment.

View the 2017 MIB Life Index "At the Half" video: http://wi.st/2tDHwIu. Review additional analytics at no charge by registering at the Enhanced Life Index Portal: www.mibsolutions.com/regLI or login at: https://portal.mibsolutions.com/Welcome.

Note: Effective January 2017, MIB has reset its benchmark comparison (basis=100) for the MIB Life Index from January 2001 to January 2011. Read more: http://bit.ly/2c908r5.

New Index values (Jan. 2011 - Jan. 2017) are posted on the Enhanced Life Index Portal at: www.mibgroup.com/riskanalytics/portal.html.

About the MIB Life Index
The MIB Life Index is the life insurance industry's timeliest measure of application activity in the United States. Released to the media each month, the Index is based on the number of searches MIB life member company underwriters perform on the MIB Checking Service database. Since the vast majority of individually underwritten life premium dollars in North America include an MIB search as a routine underwriting requirement, the MIB Life Index provides a reasonable means to estimate new business activity. For past releases, methodology or to subscribe visit www.mib.com/lifeindex.

About MIB
MIB is the life and health insurance industry’s most trusted and secure resource for data-driven risk management services that protect the financial integrity of its members and address their evolving needs. Owned by its members, MIB is uniquely positioned to securely collect and analyze confidential data. MIB services help to detect fraud, errors and omissions on insurance applications; to analyze industry data needed to manage a variety of financial risks; and to make regulatory reporting compliance less onerous and more efficient. As the life insurance industry’s first statistical agent, our MIB Solutions, Inc. subsidiary cost-effectively performs annual data calls for those insurers subject to principles-based reserving. MIB Group, Inc., a membership corporation, provides services through its wholly-owned operating subsidiaries, MIB, Inc. and MIB Solutions, Inc. For more information, visit www.mibgroup.com.