Total individual risk new premium decreased by 8.5% in the year to June 2024 to $1.27 billion, according to DEXX&R latest Life Analysis Report.
This follows a 3.4% decrease in total individual risk new premiums in the year to March 2024, although disability income new business was up by 6.6% in that March year, following green shoots seen in the year to December 2023 when disability income new business increased by 7.3%.
For the latest June 2024 year DEXX&R notes that individual risk lump sum new business was down 10.3% to $857 million from the $955 million recorded in the year to June 2023.
Disability income new business decreased by 4.5% to $411 million over the year to June 2024, down from the $431 million recorded in the 12 months to June 2023.
Quarterly results
The June 2024 quarter data saw individual lump sum new premium increase by 5.7% to $208 million, $11 million more than the $197 million recorded in March 2024 quarter.
Although disability income new business in the June 2024 quarter of $78 million was down 14.8% from the $91 million recorded in the March 2024 quarter.
Discontinuances
Individual lump sum discontinuances saw the Attrition Rate increase to 10.4% in June 2024, up from 10.0% a year earlier while the DEXX&R Attrition Rate for disability income business increased to 11.3% in June 2024, up from 10.6% at June 2023.
The firm says that discontinuances continue to climb from the 8.8% low recorded in June 2021 immediately prior to the release of a new range of disability income products following the APRA intervention and release of conforming products in 2021.
"Discontinuances continue to climb from the 8.8% low recorded in June 2021"
What a coincidence? That's around the time when all of our friendly life insurers commenced their current practice of " gouging" existing policyholders. A 1.6% INCREASE in lapses may not seem a lot to some people, but in real terms it's a disaster.
And still no sign from any of our friends in the life offices that it might be time to admit to government that LIF was a stuff up, particularly when it coincided with FARSEA.
To quote Neddy Seagoon, "it's Christmas, and still no offer of pantomine." And it really is a pantomime for the advice industry, because risk advisers have been screaming for a number of years that the villain is " behind you" , looming in the shape of LIF.
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