Workplace life, DI sales rebound in Q2

WINDSOR, Conn., Sept. 30, 2025 — Although the job market has softened slightly, LIMRA research shows workplace life insurance and disability insurance remain a priority. Recent studies show that two-thirds of employers and a majority of workers value these benefits.

“While inflation and a softening economy may force employers to re-evaluate the breadth of their benefit offerings in 2026, LIMRA’s research shows most employers plan to continue to offer a competitive benefits package to attract and retain the best workers,” said Grace Rafferty, corporate vice president and director of LIMRA’s workplace benefits research program. “In the first half of 2025, we see sales stabilizing. We expect this to continue through the rest of the year.”

Life insurance

In the second quarter of 2025, total workplace life insurance new premium ticked up 1% year over year to $666 million. Year to date (YTD), total workplace life insurance new premium was $2.65 billion, down 7% from the same period in 2024. Less than half of participating carriers reported sales growth in the first half of 2025.

Although term new premium continued to struggle in the second quarter, down 4%, year over year, permanent product sales rebounded from the double-digit decline experienced in the first quarter, rising 1% in the second quarter. YTD, group life insurance premium, which represents 92% of the market, fell 6%. Individual sales fell 8%, compared with the prior year's results.

Disability insurance

Total workplace disability insurance new premium was $618 million in the second quarter of 2025, a 3% increase year-over-year. In the second quarter, short-term disability insurance new premium grew 7% and long-term disability insurance premium fell 3%.

In the first six months of 2025, total workplace disability insurance topped $2.3 billion, 7% lower than the prior year’s results. Short-term disability new premium fell 5% and long-term disability new premium dropped 9%, YTD. The top 10 carriers accounted for 75% of total new disability insurance premium sales in the first six months of 2025.

Supplemental health insurance

In the second quarter, workplace supplemental health product sales, which include accident, critical illness, cancer, hospital indemnity, and other supplemental health insurance products*, were $541 million, level with the second quarter of 2024.  In the first six months of 2025, supplemental health new premium totaled $1.9 billion, down 5%, compared with the same period last year. The top 10 carriers collectively represented 66% of all supplemental health product sales in the first half of 2025.

Accounting for 95% of all new supplemental health premium in the first half of 2025, the major product lines (accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance) declined in sales, compared with results from the same period in 2024.

Group workplace and individual workplace supplemental health product sales accounted for 82% and 18% of all new premium collected, respectively. Group workplace supplemental health products fell 6% for the first half of the year, while individual worksite sales declined 4%.

LIMRA’s workplace benefits sales surveys for life insurance, disability insurance and supplemental health represent more than 90% of their respective annualized premium markets.

The latest data table with U.S. workplace sales trends is published in LIMRA’s Fact Tank.