January applications for life insurance in North America declined 7.7% compared to same period last year, according to Massachusetts-based insurance information firm MIB Group Inc.

U.S. and Canadian application activity was off 8.1% and 4.1% respectively year-over-year.

Primarily driven by declining activity in the U.S. market, January marks the fourth consecutive month of decline in the MIB Life Index for North America, with the last increase in consolidated activity observed September 2002 (+7.2%).

“January’s 8.1% decline in U.S. activity is partially explained by a relatively strong comparative Index value for January 2002,” said Stacy Gill, vice president and chief knowledge officer at the MIB Group’s e-Services Corp. “Viewed against January 2001 levels, U.S. application activity shows an insignificant 0.3% decline, suggesting the January 2002 measure was strong, relative to historical levels.”