New business fell in Dec qtr

For example, ISI figures show new business in the largest product category, term life insurance, fell to $23.5 million in the three months ended December compared with $25.3 million in the September quarter and $23.7 million in the December 2010 quarter.

Lapse rates at $23.6 million exceeded new business and was significantly higher than the $20.6 million recorded in the December quarter last year, although it was down from $24.7 million in the September quarter.

ISI chief executive Peter Neilson, who says his members account for about 80% of the life insurance industry, says the drop may reflect a combination of the difficult economy and people choosing not to pay for insurance as well as the more onerous requirements of the new regulatory regime.