IN THIS ARTICLE
- Sun Life insurance rating and review
- Pros and cons
- Who is Sun Life Insurance?
- How much does life insurance from Sun Life cost?
- Types of term life insurance policies Sun Life offers
- What other insurance policies does Sun Life Financial offer?
- Is Sun Life Insurance right for you?
IN THIS ARTICLE
Sun Life insurance rating and review
Pros and cons
Who is Sun Life Insurance?
How much does life insurance from Sun Life cost?
Types of term life insurance policies Sun Life offers
What other insurance policies does Sun Life Financial offer?
Is Sun Life Insurance right for you?
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.
Call 1-888-601-9980 to speak to our licensed advisors right away, or book some time with them below.
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PolicyAdvisor Rating
Best for In-Person Purchase
AM Best Rating A+
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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 — theSun 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 Term Life Insurance — Product Details
- Available Term Lengths: 10, 15, 20, and 30 years
- Available Term Types:Guaranteed level premiums
- Maximum Amount of Coverage: $15,000,000
- Renewability: Yes, renewable to age 85 (for SunTerm and SunSpectrum only)
- Convertibility: Yes, convertible before age 75 (for SunTerm and SunSpectrum only)
- Added complementary benefits: Terminal illness benefit — insured may be eligible for a 50% advance of the coverage amount in event of terminal illness, up to a $250,000
- Other types of insurance: Permanent insurance, critical illness insurance, disability insurance, , long-term care insurance
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
More choice. Lower price.
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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 inMontreal,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
Check out more facts about Canada’s biggest life insurance companies
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.
SunTerm
Sun Life’s standard product, with features you would find in most term life insurance plans.
- Offered in 10, 15, 20 and 30-year terms with guaranteed level premiums
- SunTerm 10 and SunTerm 15 are exchangeable for SunTerm 20 or SunTerm 30 should your coverage needs change
- All terms offer optional benefits such as children’s insurance riders, waiver of premium on total disability, guaranteed insurability, and accidental death benefit
- All terms are renewable to age 85 and convertible before age 75
- Joint-first-to-die and multiple life options available
- Minimum coverage amount for this product is $250,000
SunSpectrum Term Insurance
Similar to the SunTerm plan, but with a lower minimum coverage amount of $50,000. This could be a good option if you want coverage for smaller amounts.
- 10, 15, 20 and 30-year terms with guaranteed level premiums
- All terms are renewable to age 85 and convertible before age 75
- SunSpectrum Term 10 and SunSpectrum Term 15 are exchangeable for 20 or 30 year terms, should your coverage needs change
- All terms offer optional benefits such as children’s insurance riders, waiver of premium on total disability, guaranteed insurability, and accidental death benefit
- Joint-first-to-die and multiple life options available
Sun Life Go Term Life Insurance
An insurance plan that has less strict underwriting, with coverage amounts from $100,000 to $1 million.
- Available in 10 or 20 year terms for those between the ages of 18 and 69
- Simpler online application process
- Answer some health questions to apply online: You will not need to take a medical test
- Does not have the other benefits/riders available with Sun Spectrum and SunTerm
- Price is a lot more expensive than other term insurance products
Sun Life Go Simplified Term Life Insurance
Sun Life’s no-medical life insurance option. It’s simplified issue, meaning you don’t need to take a medical exam to get approved. You can get small amounts of coverage with this plan.
- Choose from 3 amounts: $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000
- The only term available is 10 years
- You only need to answer 3 health-related questions
- No other optional riders/benefits
- Can be useful for people with health issues who may not qualify for traditional term life insurance or other insurance products
- A lot more expensive
What other insurance policies does Sun Life Insurance offer?
Aside from term life insurance, Sun Life also sells the following products:
Permanent life insurance
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.
Learn more about permanent life insurance.
Sun Life Non-Participating Life Insurance
Builds cash value over time, but does not pay dividends. Sun Life has 3 options for this type of plan:
- Sun Life Go Guaranteed Life Insurance.Simplified or guaranteed no-medical plan with coverage amounts from $5,000 to $25,000.
- SunSpectrum Permanent Life II.Whole life insurance coverage up to $10,000,000 that needs no active management.
- Sun Permanent Life Insurance. Guaranteed lifetime protection with coverage from $250,000 to $10,000,000.
Sun Life Participating Life Insurance
Gives you cash value and pays out dividends. Sun Life also has 3 options for this type of policy:
- Sun Par Protector II. Basic plan to generate long-term cash value and death benefit growth.
- Sun Par Accumulator II. Focuses on higher cash value growth in a shorter amount of time,
- Sun Par Accelerator.Guaranteed to be fully paid-up in eight years. Provides high cash values in a short period of time, but also gives you long-term cash value and death benefit growth.
Sun Life Universal Life Insurance
Lets you manage your own cash value investments instead of letting the insurance company do it for you. Sun Life also has 3 options for this type of coverage:
- SunUniversalLife II. Policyholders can choose from four coverage options, six Cost Of Insurance structures, and five death benefit options.
- SunUniversalLife Pro. Designed specifically for corporations, business owners, and professionals.
- SunSpectrum Universal Life II. Reduced paid-up feature lets you stop making payments after age 70. It also features a guaranteed investment bonus that rewards you for maintaining and growing the policy.
Critical Illness Insurance
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)
Read our Sun Life Critical Illness Insurance Review
Disability insurance
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.
Learn more about disability insurance in Canada.
Health and Dental Insurance
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.
Learn more about private medical insurance in Canada.
Long Term Care Insurance
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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SUMMARY
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.
Written By
Jiten PuriCEO & Founder, Insurance Advisor, LLQP
Jiten Puri, CEO and co-founder of PolicyAdvisor, brings global finance expertise and 10+ years in insurance. Based in Ontario, he’s focused on making insurance more accessible through innovative technology and personalized guidance.
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Jiten Puri, CEO and co-founder of PolicyAdvisor, brings global finance expertise and 10+ years in insurance. Based in Ontario, he’s focused on making insurance more accessible through innovative technology and personalized guidance.
The information above is intended for informational purposes only and is based on PolicyAdvisor’s own views, which are subject to change without notice. This content is not intended and should not be construed to constitute financial or legal advice. PolicyAdvisor accepts no responsibility for the outcome of people choosing to act on the information contained on this website. PolicyAdvisor makes every effort to include updated, accurate information. The above content may not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, termination, and other provisions of the policies described, some of which may be material to the policy selection. Please refer to the actual policy documents for complete details. In case of any discrepancy, the language in the actual policy documents will prevail. All rights reserved.
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