Frank Swedlove, president of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association said that the positive results demonstrate that the industry continues to offer products and services that are important to Canadians, and that the industry is well positioned for further growth as the economy rebounds.

The industry's key statistics for 2008 show that total industry premiums for all lines of business rose 3.8 per cent to $76.3 billion. Annuity premiums also rose to $34.7 billion- up 1.2 per cent over the record high set in 2007.

The report also found that premiums for supplementary health and disability insurance products rose 7.4 per cent to almost $26.7 billion and life insurance increased 3.7 per cent to $14.9 billion. Despite the economic turmoil, industry assets declined by a moderate 4.8 per cent to $411 billion.