Life Insurance Term Life Insurance Index: Modest decline in Q1 Term life insurance new premiums dipped 1% in Q1 2025 to $738 million, following strong growth in 2024. View Carriers Please enter valid zip Compare top carriers in your area Written by Nupur Gambhir Nupur Gambhir Nupur Gambhir is an insurance expert and managing editor of Insure.com. She specializes in life and health insurance content, and has experience as a marketing consultant. | Reviewed by John McCormick John McCormick John McCormick is an insurance expert and the editorial director for QuinStreet's insurance sites -- CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, he was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and was an editor and reporter at several media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance and technology. | Updated on: July 11, 2025 Why you can trust Insure.com Quality Verified At Insure.com, we are committed to providing the timely, accurate and expert information consumers need to make smart insurance decisions. All our content is written and reviewed by industry professionals and insurance experts. Our team carefully vets our rate data to ensure we only provide reliable and up-to-date insurance pricing. We follow the highest editorial standards. Our content is based solely on objective research and data gathering. We maintain strict editorial independence to ensure unbiased coverage of the insurance industry. After a solid performance in 2024, term life insurance new premiums saw a slight pullback in the first quarter of 2025. Term life new annualized premium totaled $738 million for the quarter, reflecting a 1% decline compared to the same period in 2024, according to LIMRA, an organization specializing in research, consulting and professional development for the insurance and financial services industries. New annualized premium is the yearly income expected from new life insurance policies sold during a specific period, calculated as if all premiums are paid annually. But for consumers, that’s not all bad news — slower sales can create a more competitive market, which may lead to better pricing and incentives for new buyers. Nonetheless, term life continues to be a foundational product in the U.S. life insurance market, even if recent trends suggest consumers are rethinking their priorities in an uncertain economy. Term life insurance held steady with a 19% share of the U.S. individual life insurance market in the first quarter of 2025. In other segments: Whole life: New premium totaled $1.48 billion in the first quarter, holding steady year over year. Whole life made up 37% of the total U.S. individual life insurance market. Indexed universal life: First-quarter new premium jumped 11% to $959 million, comprising 24% market share. Variable universal life: New premium soared 41% from Q1 2024, totaling $533 million and accounted for 14% of U.S. life insurance premium in the quarter. Fixed universal life: Premium fell 4% to $235 million, the lowest since Q3 2023, and represented 6% of the total market. What’s behind the dip in term life sales? The 1% quarterly decline in term life premium may not seem significant on its face, but it reflects growing hesitancy among middle-income households. “Historically, a 1% decline is not remarkable, especially given the heightened economic anxiety our April 2025 consumer sentiment study revealed (up 14 points in three months),” says Nancy Moussa, associate director of LIMRA Insurance Product Research. But the dip could still be tied to broader economic uncertainty. “Our data shows when consumers — particularly middle-income consumers — face economic uncertainty, they tend to put off what they consider to be discretionary purchases, like life insurance.” With inflation still squeezing household budgets, term life, which traditionally attracts younger and middle-income consumers, has taken a backseat for some. Term life is also being shaped by fierce competition across the industry. “The term market is highly competitive, and as some companies reprice their product offerings to capture more market share, it often negatively impacts other firms,” Moussa explains. Many insurers rely on pricing adjustments to attract new policyholders or optimize existing blocks of business. “Our survey shows that some companies who reported term sales losses attributed them to competitors offering better rates,” she adds. Despite the small decline, Moussa says that some carriers still saw gains, especially those focused on simplified digital sales or price-led strategies. Outlook for the rest of 2025 Over the past decade, term life has typically grown 2% to 3% annually. A 1% dip isn’t outside the norm, but continued pressure from inflation could challenge that trend. “Should inflation persist or economic conditions falter, we may see continued retraction in the term market.” Even so, the near-term outlook for people shopping for term life insurance appears promising. “Term products are a very competitive market and pricing is one of the most effective ways for a carrier to manage its book of business. Our survey shows that some companies who reported term sales losses, attributed them to competitors offering better rates,” Moussa says. That competition could be good news for shoppers. As insurers lower prices to stay competitive, it may get easier, and more affordable, for people to buy term life coverage. Many companies are also simplifying the application process, especially online, making it faster and less of a hassle to get the protection you need. × Get Free Life Insurance Quotes Today! Zip Code Please enter valid zip Age Age 16 – 20 21 – 24 25 – 34 35 – 44 45 – 54 55 – 64 65+ Coverage Amount Coverage Amount $50,000 – $100,000 $100,000 – $200,000 $200,000 – $300,000 $400,000 – $500,000 $500,000 – $1,000,000 $1,000,000 – $2,000,000 $2,000,000 – $5,000,000 $5,000,000+ Coverage Type Coverage Type Whole Life Term Life Final Expense Not Sure Gender Gender Male Female Non-Binary Tobacco Use Yes No Compare Quotes Nupur GambhirManaging Editor | . .Nupur Gambhir is an insurance expert and managing editor of Insure.com. She specializes in life and health insurance content, and has experience as a marketing consultant. Related Articles Breaking down the cost of a $400,000 life insurance policy By Nupur Gambhir Father’s Day Index 2025: Dad’s salary jumps more than 5% to nearly $61,000 By John McCormick Can you hide smoking from life insurance companies? 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