Workplace life and disability insurance in the US turned positive in the second quarter of 2025, reversing a weak start to the year. LIMRA’s data shows a modest but clear shift.
Life insurance premium from workplace plans reached $666 mn in Q2, a 1% uptick year over year.
For the first six months, though, new premium came in at $2.65 bn, still down 7% compared with the same period in 2024. Less than half of carriers reported growth across the first half.
- Group life insurance, which dominates the sector with 92% share, slipped 6% year to date, while individual workplace life sales dropped 8%.
- Term sales declined 4% in Q2, but permanent product sales climbed 1% after a sharp double-digit fall in the first quarter.
On disability coverage, Q2 new premium hit $618 mn, 3% higher than the year-earlier quarter.
Short-term disability grew 7% in the period, while long-term disability contracted by 3%. Despite that quarterly rise, total disability premium for the first half fell to $2.3 bn, about 7% below 2024 levels.
Short-term dropped 5%, long-term declined 9%, and the top 10 carriers together controlled three quarters of the new premium sold.
Grace Rafferty, who leads LIMRA’s workplace benefits research program, said sales stabilized in early 2025 and are expected to remain steady.
Employers, she noted, may re-examine benefits in 2026 as inflation and economic strain weigh on costs, but most plan to keep packages competitive to secure talent.
While inflation and a softening economy may force employers to re-evaluate the breadth of their benefit offerings in 2026, LIMRA’s research shows most employers plan to continue to offer a competitive benefits package to attract and retain the best workers
Grace Rafferty, corporate vice president and director of LIMRA’s workplace benefits research program
“In the first half of 2025, we see sales stabilizing. We expect this to continue through the rest of the year,” Grace Rafferty said.
The backdrop isn’t all bright. Pension risk transfer contracts cratered. New PRT premium sank 64% in Q2 to $4.1 bn and fell 56% in the first half to $11.5 bn.
Contract count also dropped: 138 deals in the second quarter, down 30% from a year earlier, and 252 in the first six months, 24% lower than 2024.
The picture that emerges is uneven – some lines claw back ground, others stumble hard, and insurers know the second half may not behave any differently.
