US individual life insurance new annualized premium rose 8% year over year to $3.94 billion in the first quarter of 2025, according to data from LIMRA’s US Life Insurance Sales Survey. The quarterly survey accounts for 80% of the US life insurance market.
The number of policies sold increased 1% compared to the same period in 2024.
LIMRA reported that total new annualized premium for U.S. individual life insurance reached $16.2 billion in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year of record-high premium.
Despite this increase in premium volume, the number of policies sold in 2024 remained flat compared to 2023.
John Carroll, senior vice president and head of life and annuities at LIMRA and LOMA, said retail life insurance premium growth was driven by indexed and variable universal life product sales.
Sales of indexed universal life (IUL) products grew 11% in the first quarter to $959 million. About 75% of IUL carriers reported growth, with half experiencing double-digit increases. The number of IUL policies sold rose 7% year over year, and most carriers posted gains. IUL premiums made up 24% of total new annualized premium for the quarter.
Variable universal life (VUL) new premium grew 41% year over year to $533 million in the first quarter. Approximately 70% of VUL carriers reported double- or triple-digit sales growth. The number of VUL policies sold increased 6% from the first quarter of 2024. VUL premiums represented 14% of the US life insurance market’s total in the first quarter.
Whole life new premium reached $1.48 billion in the first quarter, slightly higher than the same period in 2024. The number of whole life policies sold rose 2%, supported by an increase in final expense and small policy sales. Whole life accounted for 37% of total new annualized premium sold during the quarter.
Term life new premium declined 1% in the first quarter to $738 million, with over half of carriers reporting a decrease. Policy count fell 2% year over year. Term life made up 19% of the U.S. individual life insurance market in the first quarter.