With Thanksgiving last week, perhaps you missed LIMRA's 3Q U.S. Individual Life Sales Summary Report. Want a quick summary of the summary? You came to the right place.
Whole life surging. Term life steady. Universal life slide slowing down. Variable products still tanking. Overall, 3Q individual life sales dropped 11% to end the first nine months of the year down 19%. Not good, but certainly a dramatic improvement over 1Q (down 26%) and 2Q (down 20%) total sales. Remember, the first half of the year marked the steepest six-month decline since 1942.
Individual whole life sales actually grew 12% in 3Q, giving the category a 1% growth rate year-to-date. Term life sales were completely flat in 3Q and are down 2% through three quarters. Universal life was down 14% – it dropped about 30% in both 1Q and 2Q. Then we come to variable products, and all I can say is "ouch." Down 52% in the quarter, and 55% for the year.
Overall policy count increased 1% for the quarter and is down 4% for the year. Whole life again led the way with policy sales growing 7% in the quarter.
