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19 came from groups of employees (46 per cent) and members of unions and associations (5 per cent). The remainder was generated from creditor's group insurance coverage sold to individuals who had taken out a loan to make a major purchase such as a home or automobile. Annuity premiums Annuity contracts generated nearly $37.4 billion or 40 per cent of total premiums and premium equivalents, achieving a new record high. Segregated fund premiums rose 1.8 per cent to $31.5 billion for market-value-based products. Meanwhile, general fund premiums for fixed-rate products experienced a double-digit increase of 13.3 per cent for the year. After stalling for three years, annual growth in total annuity premiums (3.5 per cent) increased significantly during 2013, although still below the average annual growth rate (5.9 per cent) of the past decade. During 2013, premiums for individual annuities continued to decline (down 9.4 per cent to just over $12.7 billion) for the fourth consecutive year, reaching their lowest level since 2004. Individual Canadians withdrew sharply from market-value-based products in segregated funds (down 12.1 per cent). That decline was moderated by increased investments in fixed-rate general fund products (up 2.7 per cent). At the same time, group annuity premiums grew by 11.6 per cent to a new record high of more than $24.6 billion, as contributions to segregated funds rose by 10 per cent and investments in general fund products jumped 24 per cent. With a 66 per cent share of total annuity premiums, group annuities continued to outpace individual annuities that dominated the market from the late 1980s until 2001. Health benefit premiums During 2013, premiums paid to insurance providers for health benefit and disability income plans in Canada rose 4.5 per cent to exceed $37.6 billion, including premium equivalents for uninsured contracts administered by life insurers and not-for-profit health care benefit providers such as provincial Blue Cross organizations. Life insurance companies received 84 per cent of the total, while 14 per cent went to not-for profit health care benefit providers. The remainder went to property and casualty insurers and fraternal benefit societies. Ninety per cent of supplementary health insurance premiums (and premium equivalents) originated from group health plans with employers, unions or other sponsoring organizations. Insured plans accounted for 60 per cent and uninsured contracts for 40 per cent of group health plans. Group premiums for insured plans have risen more than one and one-half times over the last decade, jumping from $12.2 billion in 2003 to almost $20.3 billion in 2013. Premium equivalents for uninsured group contracts have increased just over one and a half times, up from almost $9 billion to nearly $13.7 billion. The growth of group coverage is largely due to the popularity with employees of group health, dental care and disability plans partly or wholly paid for by employers. Also, these plans are offered to many other large groups, such as professional and trade associations, students, creditors and travellers, as well as small- and medium-sized employers. Meanwhile, premiums for individually purchased contracts rose 12.2 per cent over the 2012 levels to almost $3.7 billion, nearly doubling over the past decade. The expansion of existing benefits and the introduction of new products have both contributed to the growth of individual health insurance. In particular, as a consequence of the cutbacks in provincial health care programs, travel health insurance now represents more than 21 per cent of today's individual health insurance market. Also, critical illness insurance has grown in popularity since the late 1990s to account for 26 per cent of the 2013 market. (Total health premiums by benefit type are shown in the chart on page 18.)