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Sun Life Insurance Review – Updated 2024
Sun Life Financial offers multiple options for term life insurance policies and offers some of the highest coverage amounts in Canada. Their policies can be standard or non-medical. Sun Life could be a good choice for you if you prefer to apply for insurance in-person, and you want a company that can give you a lot of coverage. We’ve rated them the Best Term Life Insurance for In-Person Purchase.
Many Canadian companies allow you to buy life insurance online these days. But, if you prefer to go into a physical location and see an expert to get insured, a policy from Sun Life could be a good choice for you.
Read our full review below to find out more about the company, which features they offer, and what we rate their life insurance products.
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Our Sun Life insurance rating and review
Sun Life sells 4 term life insurance products:
- SunTerm: a normal term insurance policy that can cover you for up to $15 million
- SunSpectrum Term: more affordable prices but you don’t have as much coverage
- SunLife Go: shorter terms and fewer rider options, but up to $1 million in coverage
- SunLife Go Simplified: a policy you don’t need a medical exam for (non-medical), but won’t give you as much coverage
Sun Life mostly sells its two main products — the Sun Term and Sun Spectrum Term — offline. You can mostly buy these by having an in-person meeting with one of the representatives who’s part of the vast network of Sun Life’s financial advisors and distributors.
Their products are fairly standard. You’ll get the features and benefits that are included with most similar policies in the Canadian life insurance market.
You can renew your policy for another term once your first term is done, or you can change it into permanent life insurance. You also have a lot of life insurance rider options that can help you get a wide variety of coverage for an affordable rate.
Sun Life’s premiums can cost a bit more than some other companies. But, they can also give you some of the highest amounts of coverage in the Canadian market.
We would recommend Sun Life if you’re looking for an insurance company that can give you decent coverage the old school way — which is to say, by applying in person.
Sun Life Insurance pros and cons
Here is what our team ranks as the most and least advantageous features of Sun Life’s term life insurance products for most Canadians.
Sun Life insurance pros
- Strong name brand recognition
- Multiple rider options available to help you maximize coverage for yourself and your family
- Lets you convert into permanent life insurance up to age 75 — most other companies only allow this up to age 70 or 71 at most
- Multiple options to convert into permanent life insurance: whole life or universal life
- Fully underwritten or non-medical coverage options available
- Coverage amounts up to $15 million — one of the highest in the Canadian market
- Online application process
- Digital e-policy
Sun Life insurance cons
- Only 4 term lengths available (10, 15, 20, or 30) — some companies let you customize
- Premiums can be higher than competitors
- Underwriting can be strict if you have existing health concerns
Who is Sun Life Insurance?
Sun Life Financial, Inc., founded in 1865, is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. It was started in Montreal, Quebec, as The Sun Insurance Company of Montreal. In 1979 the company shifted its headquarters from Montreal to Toronto.
Today Sun Life is a major financial company. It has offices in countries all over the world, including the U.S., the United Kingdom and Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Bermuda. It has 37,000 employees and sells products through more than 112,000 advisors.
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada provides insurance and financial services like wealth and asset management. It has over $1 trillion CAD worth of assets under management (AUM) across the world.
Sun Life and Health Insurance Company: Quick Facts
- Founded: 1865
- Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
- AM Best Rating: A+
- Better Business Bureau Accreditation and Rating: No / A+
- Assets: $173.2 billion
- Annual Premiums: $20.9 billion
How much does life insurance from Sun Life Insurance cost?
Term life insurance from Sun Life can be more expensive than other companies. But, you also get the added benefit of higher coverage. The table below shows some Sun Life term insurance quotes at different ages for their default plan, for a 20-year term and $500,000 in coverage.
You can easily get a personal Sun Life insurance quote and compare it with other companies right here on our website. Just click the link below the table to get started.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $33.30 | $26.10 |
| 35 | $35.10 | $28.80 |
| 40 | $52.65 | $40.50 |
| 45 | $82.80 | $59.40 |
| 50 | $141.75 | $95.85 |
| 55 | $259.20 | $176.40 |
| 60 | $469.80 | $322.20 |
| 65 | $718.20 | $498.60 |
*Representative values. Insurance premiums for SunTerm 20 based on non-smokers in good health. $500,000 life insurance benefit coverage, 20-year term.
What types of term life insurance policies does Sun Life Insurance offer?
Sun Life Insurance offers four different term life insurance products. We’ve provided some details on them below.
What other insurance policies does Sun Life Insurance offer?
Aside from term life insurance, Sun Life also sells the following products:
Permanent life insurance covers you for your entire life. Your premiums are guaranteed to stay the same as long as you have your policy. It’s also often called whole life insurance.
Many of these types of plans also have an investment component that helps you build wealth during your lifetime.
Sun Life has 3 different types of permanent insurance options: non-participating, participating, and universal.
Critical illness insurance will give you a one-time payment if you become sick with a serious illness. Most insurance companies will pay out for 26 or more of the most common major diseases in Canada, like cancer, heart attack, stroke, and others.
Sun Life offers critical illness insurance for adults and children. They also give you a lot of options to customize your coverage, such as:
- Enhanced (covers 26 conditions) and children’s coverage (5 additional conditions) available
- 8 conditions are eligible for partial payouts
- Early detection is eligible for partial payment (10% of the benefit up to $50,000)
- Terms: 10 years and to age 75 and 100
- 10 and 15 year limited pay options
- Maximum coverage: $2.5-million
- Coverage for Loss of Independent Existence Included
- Return of Premium on death and expiry/cancellation available (after 15 years)
Disability insurance will help pay a big part of your paycheque if you become disabled and cannot work. It’s also called income protection insurance.
Sun Life has disability insurance options for sale. But you have to speak to an insurance broker to find out more information and get quotes for their disability insurance plans.
Private health insurance helps to pay for health care costs that your provincial or government health plan doesn’t. Most private health plans also help pay for dental costs.
Sun Life is a popular choice for group benefits through your job in Canada. A lot of companies use them to give benefits like private health insurance to their employees. They offer Basic, Standard, and Enhanced plans, with different levels of coverage.
Sun Life also lets you change your group health insurance to a policy you own if you leave the company, so you won’t lose your coverage. They let you do this easily without having to answer a lot of health questions or do a medical exam.
Long-term care insurance is a type of policy that helps to cover costs of taking care of someone when they become older and need assistance with daily living. It pays part of the cost for things like if you need to move into a senior’s home.
Sun Life offers both Sun Long Term Care Insurance and Sun Retirement Health Assist to protect against healthcare costs in retirement.
Is Sun Life Insurance right for you?
Sun Life Insurance could be a good option for people who need reliable term life insurance and a high amount of coverage — like people with high net-worth. It’s also a good option for people who want to apply for life insurance in-person instead of over the internet.
Sun Life offers strong brand name recognition and standard coverage that can be a good fit for a lot of Canadians. However, people who want to save as much money as possible should compare quotes from other providers who may be able to offer more affordable options.
At PolicyAdvisor, we work with more than 30 of the best insurance companies in Canada. Speak to our licensed advisors and we can help you decide if Sun Life’s products are the best fit for you.
Where to buy Sun Life term life insurance policies?
You can buy life insurance with Sun Life on PolicyAdvisor.com. Use our free quoting tool or click the button below to get personalized quotes instantly. And, you can also compare those quotes with some of the other top companies for life insurance in Canada.
If you would prefer to speak with a licensed insurance agent, we can help with that too! Our experienced advisors would be happy to speak with you and give one-on-one advice.
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As Canada’s best online life insurance advisor, we can help you compare and choose the company that matches your needs. Don’t hesitate to speak with our licensed advisors if you need help. We offer no-obligation advice to help you find your best match!
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