Life insurance activity, based on individually underwritten applications filed, appears to moderating after several solid months at the beginning of the year.

The number of U.S. life insurance applications filed in March fell slightly, although the first quarter showed overall gains over 2011, according to the monthly MIB Life Index.

January’s application activity for individually underwritten life insurance showed an 8.3% increase compared to January 2011 and additional growth from the 5.8% rise in December 2011.

The experts have looked at some figures and peered into their crystal balls, and if what they see in the life insurance and financial services sectors is more than just a hiccup, we might see some good trends.

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.

Life insurance application activity showed a meager 0.5% gain in November, although researchers said the “no change” status signaled a “positive tone.”

The number of individually underwritten life insurance applications filed rose 1.6% in October, compared to the same period last year, according to the monthly MIB Life Index.

The string of three straight months of increased application activity for individually underwritten life insurance was broken in September, and an industry expert is forecasting a “rollercoaster” ride in the future.

Applications filed for individually underwritten life insurance increased 2.1% in July, an “unprecedented” increase for the month, according to the MIB Life Index.

The second-quarter decline in individually underwritten life insurance applications was less than in prior years.