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Variable universal life (VUL) insurance may account for only about 6% of new U.S. retail life insurance sales, but sales of that product continue to grow like a weed.
Insurers sold 8% more VUL policies in the first quarter than they sold in the first quarter of 2017, and annualized premiums from sales of new VUL policies increased 10%, according to new data from LIMRA.
The total value of the death benefits associated with those newly purchased VUL policies fell 1%. That drop helped increase the amount of revenue life insurers generated per $1,000 of coverage sold.
VUL was also hot in the fourth quarter of 2017: in the fourth quarter, annualized premium revenue from new VUL sales was 17% higher than in the year-earlier quarter.
LIMRA, a nonprofit life insurance research group, included the VUL sales numbers in a summary of results from its latest quarterly life insurer survey.
