Recession hampers voluntary sales

In last month’s column, we looked at overall voluntary sales for 2010. In this edition, we analyze the results further by looking at product line sales as well as platform. As we reported last month, total 2010 voluntary sales for all products was $5.243 billion (down about 3 percent over 2009), according to Eastbridge’s annual U.S. Worksite Sales Report.

Voluntary life sales accounted for 25 percent of all voluntary sales. This gave life insurance the top market share for the second year in a row. New life sales were $1.331 billion for the year, up just slightly (1.5 percent) over 2009. Term life generated the most sales premium in 2010 with just under $930 million, down one percent from 2009. Universal life and whole life sales had one of the few increases with $400 million in new sales, up almost eight percent over 2009.