Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions). Your first question comes from the line of Youssef Squali with Jefferies and Company. Please proceed with your question.
Youssef Squali - Jefferies and Company
Gary, couple of questions for you, or maybe Stewart. When I look at the IFP application growth of about 23%, just to clarify, does that include the 20,000 that you got from HVD, and is the 20% plus rate of growth kind of sustainable, as we go through the rest of 2009. Now second half of last year, you have talked publicly about 20% plus rate becoming sustainable, now we are there. So where do you see it kind of going forward?
And then in terms of ARPU, as I look at the average revenue per customer or per applicant, it was actually down about 3%. That's a bit of an acceleration from prior quarters. I was wondering if you can kind of help us understand why? Is that because of some pressure on premiums, or is that because of the mix of new applicants or new customers that may be coming at a lower rate than others?
Gary Lauer
Regarding the 23% application growth that we experienced in the first quarter, no. There is no Health Benefits Direct business impacting that or affecting that. That was just pure application growth as we drive applications to the eHealth site.
Regarding going forward, we're obviously pleased with the 23%. As I think, both Stuart and I said, we're optimistic about the year. We stand on the guidance that we provided previously. It's difficult to forecast. Frankly, it's much more predictable and forecastable. We look at our revenue, then it is an application growth, given the nature of our business and so on.
I can tell you we've got a lot of programs, activities, campaigns in place. There is a lot of attention being paid to this individual health insurance area right now. In fact, we've been looking at the results of some of the large carriers that they have been reporting over the past several days, and many of them are pointing to growth, an accelerated growth in the individual planned product area, as their employee base membership ranks are in decline for all of the obvious reasons, because of the economy and so on.
So I can't answer your question specifically in terms of what we expect to see in terms of application growth. Rest assured, as in the first quarter, we're doing a lot of things to drive application growth today, and we'll continue to do that throughout the year.
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