Individual Life Insurance Sales Up 4% in First Half of 2011 Financial-Planning.com
Total individual life insurance policy sales were up 4% in the first two quarters of 2011 compared to the first two months of 2010, according to the LIMRA data -- though the pace of sales slowed a bit in the second quarter.
Ashley Durham, a senior analyst at LIMRA, said, “Part of the slowdown in growth is a reflection of a few companies moving away from lifetime death benefit universal life products.”
Annualized premium sales for universal life products that carry a death benefit guarantee were down 3% in the second quarter from where they were in the second quarter a year ago but were level for the first six months compared to the same period last year.
That said, the LIMRA report shows that lifetime guarantees remain very popular, representing 45% of the market in 2011.
The insurance product showing the strongest gain in 2011 was universal life, with the number of policies sold up 11% in the second quarter over 2010, and the face amount up 12%. For the first half, sales of universal life in terms of policies sold were up 14%, while the face amount was up 18% over 2010.
