Total new individual life annualized premiums improved 2 percent in the 2010 fourth quarter, for a 4 percent growth for the year, according to LIMRA's U.S. Individual Life Insurance Sales Survey.

"Throughout the year, whole life and universal life were strong performers, spurring an increase of overall individual life insurance sales," says Ashley Durham, senior analyst, LIMRA product research. "While we have not gotten back to the peak level reached in 2007, we are encouraged by the positive results this year."

In the fourth quarter of 2010, new whole life annualized premiums improved 14 percent and 15 percent for the year. Policy sales also increased 6 percent for the quarter and 2 percent for the year. Almost 60 percent of the writers grew their whole sale premiums this year, including all but one of the top ten. This marks the sixth consecutive quarter of growth for whole life sales.