Your clients' purchases of life insurance policies may now look more like they did before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Consumers filed 6% fewer applications for individual life insurance in June than they filed in June 2021, according to MIB Group's new U.S. application activity report.
But activity was strong earlier in the year, and overall activity for the first half appears to be comparable to what it was in the first half of 2019, when no one had heard of COVID-19.
Although overall application activity was down in June, the application submission rate for consumers ages 71 and older increased, as it has most of the year.
What It Means
High-income and high-net-worth clients ages 71 and older may be using permanent life policies to fund estate plans, long-term care plans or retirement income planning arrangements.
The high MIB application level for consumers in that oldest age group may be a sign of ferment in the wealth planning market.
One sign that this is the case is that MIB is reporting 2.8% year-to-date growth in the amount of coverage sought by women asking for $5 million or more in death benefits. Other women — and men in all face amount categories — asked for less coverage, on average, than in the first half of 2021.
MIB
MIB — a Braintree, Massachusetts-based consortium — provides systems that life insurers can use to share information for life insurance applicant underwriting purposes.
