The life insurance application activity for last year finished slightly above the 2010 level, spurred in part by 5.8% year-over-year growth in December.

The 0.2% annual growth marked the first year of growth in three years, according to the MIB Life Index, whose researchers said in a statement that the results for the year show “marked resilience.”

In 2010, individually underwritten life insurance application activity fell 1.2%, while in 2009, the year-end results were down 0.2%.

Last year’s application activity by quarter showed losses improving slightly in the first three quarters, but boosted significantly with the 2.5% gain in the fourth quarter.

“The Index has lost more than 4% since 2007 but the pace of decline has lessened, 2011 is slightly positive and a strong fourth quarter is cause for optimism as we look toward 2012,” states Lee Oliphant, MIB’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “We believe market stability in challenging economic conditions may signal a new floor from which the industry can grow.”

The MIB Life Index is off 4.1% since 2007, with the numbers falling 15.3% since 2003.

December activity was off a modest 1.0% compared to the prior month, a significantly smaller decline than the 6.4% slip in November 2010 and the 6.5% slide the prior year.