LIMRA

    By
    Broker World
    -

    U.S. individual life insurance new annualized premium increased 1 percent in the fourth quarter 2015—the sixth consecutive quarter of positive growth, according to LIMRA’s Fourth Quarter 2015 U.S. Retail Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey.

    “While growth slowed in the fourth quarter, individual life insurance premium sales increased 6 percent in 2015,” noted Ashley Durham, assistant research director, LIMRA Insurance Research. “Whole life and indexed universal life insurance products continued to drive overall growth throughout the year.”

    Total policy count rose 4 percent for the year.  This is the first year of positive policy count growth since 2012.

    Universal life (UL) ended the year up 7 percent in 2015.  Indexed UL jumped 15 percent and was the primary driver of overall UL sales growth for the year.  IUL represented 55 percent of UL new premium and 21 percent of all individual life insurance new premium.  Total UL premium represented 38 percent of all life insurance new premium in 2015.

    Variable universal life (VUL) premium fell 3 percent  in 2015. Market share for VUL remained at 7 percent of total life sales.

    Whole life (WL) premium improved 9 percent in 2015. This is the 10th consecutive year of positive growth for whole life. WL represented 34 percent of the total life insurance new premium in 2015.

    Term sales growth was up 2 percent for the year.  Term’s market share was 21 percent in 2015.

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