LIMRA Reports Individual Life Insurance Sales Increase 8 Percent in First Quarter 2015

WINDSOR, Conn., June 2, 2015—Total individual life insurance new annualized premium increased 8 percent and policy count rose 5 percent in the first quarter, according to LIMRA’s Retail Individual Life Insurance Survey.

Measured by new annualized premium and policy count, every product line recorded positive growth in the first quarter, compared with first quarter of 2014.

“This was a strong quarter for individual life insurance in the United States,” said Ashley Durham, assistant research director, LIMRA Insurance Research. “Indexed and variable universal life insurance sales recorded double-digit growth in the three months of 2015, while whole life rebounded after stalling this time last year.”

Total universal life insurance (UL) new annualized premium grew 7 percent in the quarter and represented 37 percent of all life insurance premium sold in the first quarter 2015.

Indexed UL (IUL) sales drove overall UL growth, with new annualized premium increasing 11 percent. IUL sales now represent half of all UL premium and19 percent of all individual life premium.

Lifetime guarantee universal life insurance (LTG) new annualized premium increased 1 percent, the first positive growth recorded in two years.

Variable UL (VUL) premium jumped 21 percent in the first quarter. According to the LIMRA survey, half of VUL writers experienced growth in the first quarter including 8 of the top 10. The top 10 writers now represent 87 percent of the VUL market. This the tenth consecutive quarter of positive growth for VUL but it still represents only 7 percent of total life sales.

Whole life (WL) new annualized premium rose 9 percent in the first quarter 2015, enjoying the largest growth in absolute dollars. WL now represents 34 percent of the total life market.

Term life insurance premium grew 2 percent in the first quarter. This is the second consecutive quarter of growth for term. Half of term writers reported positive growth to LIMRA. Market share for term life insurance remained steady at 22 percent in the first three months of 2015.

View the latest data table on U.S. life insurance sales trends. For more statistics, visit the newly updated Fact Tank

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LIMRA Contacts

Catherine Theroux, +1-860-285-7787, ctheroux@limra.com
Mark Morris, +1-860-285-7875, mmorris@limra.com

About LIMRA

LIMRA, a worldwide research, learning and development organization, is the trusted source of industry knowledge, helping more than 850 insurance and financial services companies in 64 countries. Visit LIMRA at www.limra.com.