U.S. life insurance: number of policies in force 2008-2015

About This Statistic

This statistic depicts the total number of life insurance policies in force in the United States from 2008 to 2015. In 2015, there were approximately 280.82 million of life insurance policies in force in the United States.

Life insurance policies – additional information

The year after the economic recession, the total number of life insurance policies in force dropped from around 335 million to 291 million. When money is tight, it appears that consumers think life insurance is something they can’t afford, instead of a tool which can be used to protect their loved ones in an emergency. Furthermore, even though the economy has since improved, the number of life insurance policies which people have has not been able to bounce back to what it was before the crisis.

While the face value of individual policies shows an upward trend as does the face amount of all policies since 1992, both show only a partial recovery since 2008. Furthermore, the number of life insurance policy purchases seems to have been on the decline since well before the crisis.

So what is actually important for consumers when it comes to life insurance? According to a consumer study carried out in January 2015, the most important factors for consumers involved getting the proper amount of coverage and being certain that they understand what they are buying. This means that clarity and transparency concerning is vital. Also, people aged 65 and over were not as concerned with price as are younger people and interestingly people under 25 years old were interested in getting coverage which is guaranteed for life.