U.S. Life Application Activity Cools

By Allison Bell

News June 07, 2024 at 01:19 PM

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U.S. life insurance application activity cooled in May, after heating up in April.

Shoppers submitted 0.6% fewer applications last month than in May 2023, MIB Group reports.

MIB, a Braintree, Massachusetts-based life insurance industry underwriting support group, bases its monthly activity reports on its application checking systems' processing volume.

Activity trends varied widely by age group.

For people ages 71 and older, activity increased almost 12%. But activity fell more than 5% for people ages 51 through 60, MIB says.

What it means: The latest activity data may reflect specific insurer marketing strategy decisions rather than the underlying demand for coverage.

Age breakouts: Here's how U.S. life application activity changed between May 2023 and the latest month for five age groups.

Ages 0-30: +3.2%
Ages 31-40: -3.1%
Ages 51-60: -5.1%
Ages 61-70: +1.9%
Ages 71 and older: +12%

Coverage costs: Policygenius, a web broker, creates monthly price charts based on the prices that term life issuers offer Policygenius customers.

The lowest price is for a 25-year-old female nonsmoker who needs $250,000 in death benefits. The highest price is for a 60-year-old male smoker who needs $1 million in coverage.

For June, the cost for the young, female nonsmoker with just $250,000 in coverage increased to $14.44, from $14.60 a year earlier. The cost for the 60-year-old male smoker with a $1 million policy is $1,621.84.

In 2023, the highest age included in the Policygenius index table was 55. For 55-year-old male smokers, the cost of $1 million in coverage increased to $1,006.89, from $1,006.82.

Credit: Adobe Stock

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