Canadian life insurance application activity saw a Year-over-Year (YOY) decline of -2.0% in April 2023 compared to April 2022. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, activity through April 2023 was flat at +1.2% compared to through April 2022. On a Month-Over-Month (MOM) basis, April 2023 activity saw a decline of -10.4% compared to March 2023, representing the fourth year in a row of MOM declines between March and April.

Activity soared into the double digits YOY in April for ages 71+, while ages 61-70 were also at growth, and ages 0-60 declined. Activity for ages 0-30 was down -6.1% YOY, ages 31-50 down -1.8%, ages 51-60 down -3.8%, ages 61-70 up +4.1%, and ages 71+ up +36.3%, achieving the highest YOY growth rate on record for any age band in any month. On a YTD basis, ages 31+ saw growth, while ages 0-30 saw declining activity.

April saw YOY declines for face amounts up to and including $1M, growth for amounts over $2.5M up to and including $5M, and flat activity for all other face amounts. On a YTD basis, amounts up to and including $500K showed declining activity, and amounts over $500K were at growth, in the double digits for amounts over $1M up to and including $2.5M and amounts over $5M.

When including age bands, ages 0-30 saw YOY growth for amounts over $2.5M up to and including $5M and declines for all other face amounts, in the double digits for amounts over $250K up to and including $2.5M and amounts over $5M. Ages 31-50 saw YOY growth for amounts over $1M, in the double digits for amounts over $5M, flat activity for amounts over $500K up to and including $1M, and declining activity for amounts up to and including $500K. Ages 51-60 saw growth for amounts over $250K up to and including $500K and amounts over $1M up to and including $2.5M, and declines for all other face amounts, in the double-digits for amounts up to and including $250K and over $500K up to and including $1M. Age 61-70 saw growth for amounts up to and including $250K and amounts over $500K up to and including $5M, in the double-digits for amounts over $1M up to and including $5M, and double-digit declines for all other face amounts. Ages 71+ saw double-digit growth for amounts up to and including $1M and amounts over $5M, triple-digit growth for amounts over $1M up to and including $2.5M, and double-digit declines for amounts over $2.5M up to and including $5M.

When examining activity patterns where a product type was submitted to MIB, Universal Life saw growth YOY in April, Whole Life activity declined, and Term Life saw double-digit declines. Growth for Universal Life centered around ages 61+, with double digit growth for ages 61-70, triple digit growth for ages 71+ and declines for all other age bands, in the double digits for ages 51-60. Whole Life saw double-digit declines YOY for ages 0-30, flat activity for ages 31-50, declines for ages 51-60, growth for ages 61-70, and declines for ages 71+. Term Life showed YOY declines across all age bands, in the double digits for ages 0-60.

About 36% of total Life Index volume for Canada in April 2023 did not include a product type. We believe the vast majority of these submissions are for Life Insurance applications and have included them in the composite analysis presented in this report. Missing product type information can have a significant impact on the Canadian analysis. Growth varies when looking solely at submissions identified as Life Insurance products, with activity for Canada down -11.7% YOY in April 2023 and down -8.3% YTD.