US individual life activity still on the decline

Application activity in the
US individually underwritten life insurance sector in 2010 did not
reflect what market players would like to see – an increase. But on
a positive note, activity at least reflected only a modest decline,
reveals data from research firm MIB.

Across all age groups,
average year-on-year (Y-o-Y) application activity in December 2010
was 1.4% down, which MIB emphasised was less than the 3%-plus
annual declines the industry experienced from 2006 to
2008.

However, application activity
in December 2009 ended the year on a stronger note than in 2010,
recording a 2.3% Y-o-Y increase.

Continuing a now well
entrenched trend, in December 2010, Y-O-Y application activity was
led by the 60-and-over age group which registered a 9.9%
increase.

In the other groups, Y-o-Y
application activity in December for ages up to 44 reflected a 4.4%
decline, and for ages 45 to 59 a marginal 0.1% decline.

The longer-term picture is
also particularly encouraging. MIB noted that the life industry’s
emergence from the recession was marked in the final two quarters
of 2009 by Y-O-Y increases of 0.3% and 2.9%, respectively, followed
by a Y-o-Y increase of 1.3% in the first quarter of
2010.

Thereafter, the recovery faded with Y-o-Y declines in the
second, third and fourth quarters of 2010 of 1.8%, 2.6%, and 1.8%,
respectively.

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