Insurance sales soar in third quarter

Individual life insurance premium sales jumped 20% during the third quarter of 2007, according to LIMRA International. Annualized premium sales for variable universal life soared by 55%, while universal life jumped by 23%. Expansion into new distribution channels, such as wholesalers, affected sales, as did the sale of corporate-owned and private-placement life insurance, according to Ashley Durham, LIMRA’s analyst for product research. The bulk of sales increases during the third quarter came from the brokerage channel. Forty percent — the majority of annualized premium — was generated through universal life, while term and universal life commanded 23% and 15% of the total premium, respectively. Universal life also saw the largest gain in new policies during the period, reporting a 4% gain in new contracts. Whole and variable life both saw the number of new policies fall by 8%.