In the third quarter, whole life insurance sales improved 6 percent and increased by 15 percent in the first nine months of 2010, finds LIMRA's U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales survey.

"Whole life sales growth has slowed compared with the 15 and 23 percent increases seen in the first few quarters of the year," says Ashley Durham, senior analyst, LIMRA product research. "However, it's important to remember that third quarter 2010 is being compared with the time when the double-digit increases began. As of the end of September, whole life represented 30 percent of overall annualized premium sales."

According to the survey, with a 10 percent growth in the first quarter and a 7 percent growth in the second quarter, total new individual life annualized premium was flat in the third quarter, and during the first nine months of 2010, sales grew 6 percent.