Strong Universal Life Interest Pushes Up MIB Application Activity

Life insurance market data collected by LIMRA, a financial services research group, suggest that the number of indexed universal life sales sold jumped 15% in the fourth quarter of 2022, while the number of fixed universal life policies and variable universal policies fell sharply.

Combined, the MIB and LIMRA numbers suggest that much of the recent life market growth may be coming from indexed universal policies — or policies designed for clients who fear market losses and also have a fear of missing out on the next boom.

Activity by Age

Here are the activity change figures, for March, for applicants in five different age groups:

Ages zero-30: +5.3%
Ages 31-50: +6.5%
Ages 51-60: -1.1%
Ages 61-70: -3.0%
Ages 71 and older: 0%

The Policygenius Price Index

A web broker, Policygenius, uses its own sales data to post a monthly term life price index.

The prices in the index tables range from the average monthly premiums for a 25-year-old female nonsmoker who needs $250,000 in death benefits up to the average monthly premiums for a 55-year-old male smoker who needs $1 million in death benefits.

This month, the cost for the 25-year-old female nonsmoker seeking $250,000 in coverage increased 1% from the average for March 2022, to $14.39.

The cost for the 55-year-old male smoker seeking $1 million in coverage, fell 1.2%, to $1,006.87.

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