Gen Re Releases 2025 U.S. Individual Life Next Gen Underwriting Survey Results

Individual Life Underwriting Continues to Evolve in 2025

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gen Re has released results of the 2025 U.S. Individual Life Next Gen Underwriting Survey. This comprehensive survey covers topics including throughput rates, sources of underwriting evidence, mortality experience, and pre-/post-issue auditing tools.

Thirty Individual Life insurance carriers representing over 2 million paid policies and $827 billion in volume participated in this study. Gen Re recognizes that carriers may be at varying stages of implementation with their underwriting workflows.

Key observations of the survey include:

• An average of 59% of Individual Life applications qualify for an accelerated underwriting path.
• Top accelerated underwriting workflow goals include reducing time to issue (52%), manage mortality slippage (45%), and increase sales (41%).
• The majority of companies (72%) are meeting their underwriting goals. Twenty-one percent exceeds them, while only two companies report missing them.
• Eighty-six percent of 2025 survey participants either currently use or plan to implement pre-/post-issue auditing/underwriting. The remaining 14% of companies do not currently use pre- or post-issue measures.
• Over half (66%) of companies estimate their mortality slippage to be between 6%-15%.

Frank Chechel, Head of Individual Life Underwriting, commented: “For five years, the Gen Re Accelerated Underwriting Survey has been the go-to source for actionable underwriting insights - covering risk evaluation tools, key underwriting performance metrics, and mortality implications. Our latest edition - the 2025 Next Gen Underwriting Survey - provides deeper and broader analysis to ensure carriers can stay ahead of the latest trends.”

The U.S. Individual Life Next Gen Underwriting Survey is an annual survey produced by Gen Re, with the full results available only to participating companies. A summary report is available online at genre.com/lhsurveys.

About Gen Re
Gen Re, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, is one of the leading Life/Health and Property/Casualty reinsurers in the world. Our North American Life/Health reinsurance company, General Re Life Corporation, has superior financial strength ratings among Life and Health reinsurers. Gen Re delivers customized reinsurance programs and risk management solutions for the Life, Medicare Supplement, Critical Illness, and Individual Disability Income markets. Through our research, we also offer valuable information and insights. www.genre.com