Guides
Life insurance sales trends: who is buying
LIMRA data on record 2025 life sales, the tilt toward whole life and IUL, Q2 2026 results, ownership rates and the coverage gap, and what the figures miss.
Americans are buying more life insurance than ever measured by premium, and the mix has tilted toward permanent coverage. LIMRA, the industry's research group, reported record new annualized premium of $17.5 billion in 2025, up 10%, with whole life the largest product line. Yet only about half of U.S. adults own any life insurance, so record sales and a large coverage gap exist side by side.
What the 2025 numbers say
The categories are whole life insurance, term life insurance, universal life insurance (fixed and indexed) and variable life insurance. According to LIMRA's March 3, 2026 release, 2025 U.S. individual life new annualized premium split as follows:
| Product | Share of new premium | New annualized premium |
|---|---|---|
| Whole life | 37% | $6.4 billion |
| Indexed universal life (IUL) | 25% | $4.5 billion |
| Term | 17% | $3.1 billion |
| Variable universal life | 15% | $2.6 billion |
| Fixed universal life | 6% | $985 million |
IUL premium was itself a record, up 17%. Annuities were far larger: LIMRA put 2025 U.S. retail annuity sales at a record $461.3 billion, the fourth record year in a row (see why annuity sales hit records).
Premium share is not policy share
This table measures dollars of first-year premium, and permanent policies carry far more premium per dollar of coverage than term. A $500,000 term policy might cost a few hundred dollars a year while a similar whole life policy costs several thousand (a hypothetical contrast, not a market quote). So a product that is 17% of premium can still be a large share of policies sold or of coverage in force. LIMRA reports policy counts separately, and in the second quarter of 2026 term policies were up 5% while term premium rose 6%. When you read that whole life is "the top seller," read it as "the top premium generator."
Who buys, and through what channel
LIMRA's barometer shows most coverage is bought individually, with 53% of insured adults holding only an individual policy and 27% relying only on workplace coverage, which is often one or two times salary and ends when the job does (see is my life insurance through work enough?). The largest captive-agent companies, such as Northwestern Mutual, New York Life and MassMutual, lead in individual life premium; NAIC's 2024 market share data put them at 8.74%, 5.80% and 5.57% of individual life direct premiums, with the top 10 groups holding 46.1% of a $156.27 billion market. Independent agencies and online platforms are where much of the term growth is reported (see online life insurance companies and agencies explained).
Where 2026 is heading
LIMRA's second-quarter 2026 release (August 26, 2026) reported total new annualized premium with excess premium up 3% from a year earlier to $4.75 billion, with policies sold up 8%. Note LIMRA's quarterly series includes excess premium, so it is not directly comparable to the annual figure above.
- Whole life: $1.77 billion, up 9%, 37% of the total.
- Variable universal life: $811 million, up 13%, the fastest-growing line.
- Term: $824 million, up 6%, with online distributors and digital platforms driving the largest gains.
- Indexed universal life: about $1.1 billion, down 9%.
- Fixed universal life: $233 million, down 3%.
LIMRA also said growth remains concentrated in the final expense market, where newer products, digital sales and wider distribution are driving sales. Final expense policies are small, so they raise policy counts more than premium.
Why permanent products are leading
Several forces point the same way, though sales data cannot say which dominates:
- Higher interest rates improved the dividend and crediting rates insurers can offer on whole life and universal life.
- Equity market gains lift appetite for variable universal life, whose cash value is invested in subaccounts.
- Advisors and agents earn more on permanent sales, which is a distribution incentive worth knowing about (see how life insurance agents are paid).
- Permanent policies appeal to buyers who want a guaranteed lifetime benefit or tax-deferred cash value, and larger cases are often driven by business and estate planning. The 2026 federal estate tax exclusion is $15,000,000 per person, so many families no longer face federal estate tax, and for them estate liquidity is a weaker reason to buy than it once was.
For the honest case for and against whole life as a savings vehicle, see whole life as an investment: what the returns really are.
Ownership and the coverage gap
The LIMRA and Life Happens 2026 Insurance Barometer (5,237 adults, fielded January 2026) found 52% of U.S. adults own life insurance, up one point. About 38% (roughly 92 million people) said they need coverage or more. Among those with coverage, 53% have individual policies only, 27% workplace coverage only and 20% both. About three in four people overestimate the cost. The top barriers were cost (45%), other priorities (35%) and not knowing what or how much to buy (23%). More men (55%) than women (49%) own coverage. the life insurance coverage gap: who is underinsured and why digs into who is underinsured.
How to use this if you are shopping
- Do not let the best-seller list pick your product. Match the product to the need: temporary needs such as a mortgage and child-raising years usually fit term, lifelong needs fit permanent coverage. The which type of life insurance fits me? walks through it.
- If a seller leads with a high-premium product, ask what problem it solves that a cheaper policy would not.
- Compare several quotes; the average buyer overestimates the price of term coverage.
Key takeaways
- 2025 individual life new premium was a record $17.5 billion, up 10%, per LIMRA; whole life led at 37%, then IUL at 25%.
- Premium share overstates permanent products' share of policies sold, because they cost more per dollar of coverage.
- In Q2 2026, premium rose 3% and policies sold rose 8%, with whole life and VUL growing and IUL shrinking.
- 52% of U.S. adults own life insurance (2026 Barometer), and 38% say they need more or any.
- Sales rankings describe what is sold, not what is best for you.