Total individual life insurance new annualized premium grew 4 percent in the second quarter of 2012, resulting in 3 percent growth for the first half of the year, according to LIMRA's sales survey.
[Check out The life insurance survival guide]
Flat policy count follows five consecutive quarters of growth.
Recommended For You
"The biggest driver behind premium growth was indexed universal life, soaring 37 percent in the second quarter," says Ashley Durham, senior research analyst LIMRA product research. "Indexed universal life continues to attract consumers who are interested in the opportunity for cash value growth potential while protecting their principal, which this product provides."
Indexed universal life was up 29 percent, accounting for 25 percent of all universal life sales.
Universal life new annualized premium grew six percent in the second quarter, and three percent in the first six months of 2012. UL policy count grew 1 percent in the second quarter—the 13th consecutive quarter of policy count growth.
Overall UL sales were dragged down by lifetime guarantee UL premiums, which declined 8 percent. While LTG products represent the highest share of new UL premium (about 35 percent), IUL are narrowing the gap. In 2009, there was a 40 percentage-point gap between LTG UL and IUL. Today, the gap has closed to just 10 percentage points, the report says.
Whole life was the second biggest driver of growth. WL premium rose 9 percent for the second quarter and 9 percent year-to-date. Nearly three-quarters of WL writers recorded positive growth. Policy count improved 3 percent in the quarter and is up 5 percent in the first half of the year.
Variable UL premium dropped 6 percent in the second quarter and is down 7 percent in the first six months. Term premium growth dropped 3 percent for the period and has declined 1 percent during the first six months of the year.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
