KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Headquartered in Toronto, Sun Life is one of the largest life insurance companies in Canada, backed by over 150 years of industry experience
  • Sun Life has varied term life insurance products, including Sun Life Go, Sun Life Go Simplified, and Sun Life Evolve Term Insurance
  • Sun Life also offers permanent life insurance, critical insurance, disability insurance, and dental insurance

Best for long-term flexibility
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
PolicyAdvisor rating
Policies offered
Term, whole, universal, permanent, critical, disability
Average life cost
Female: $26/month
Male: $33/month
*Based on standard profile
AM Best Rating
A+
LICAT Ratio
152%

Sun Life stands out for long-term flexibility, offering term coverage from 5 year up to 40 years alongside underwriting tailored for those managing diabetes. Their plans can be customized with valuable add-ons like critical illness, accidental death benefit, waiver of premium, business protection, and more. Sun Life insurance plans also have built-in conversion options that let policy owners seamlessly switch from term to permanent coverage without new medical evidence. These features make Sun Life a top choice for adaptable and long-term protection.

Read our full review below to find out more about the company, the features they offer, and what we rate their life insurance products.

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Our Sun Life insurance rating and review

Sun Life currently offers Sun Life Evolve Term Insurance as its primary fully underwritten term solution, built for flexible term lengths, higher coverage limits, and the ability to convert to permanent insurance as needs evolve.

Alongside Evolve, Sun Life also offers Sun Life Go and Sun Life Go Simplified, which focus on faster, online approvals and simplified underwriting. However, these options typically come with lower coverage limits, fewer customization features, and less structural flexibility compared to Evolve.

Sun Life also offered SunTerm and SunSpectrum Term previously as its traditional term life products, but both have been replaced by Sun Life Evolve Term as the insurer’s core fully underwritten solution.

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 be slightly higher than those of some other companies. However, they also offer some of the highest coverage amounts in the Canadian market.

We would recommend Sun Life if you’re looking for a term life insurance product that offers strong flexibility (from a wide range of term length options to the ability to secure higher coverage amounts) while still giving you room to convert your coverage as your needs evolve.

Sun Life Term Life Insurance — Product Details

  • Available Term Lengths: 5 to 40 years
  • Available Term Types: Guaranteed level premiums
  • Maximum Amount of Coverage: $25,000,000
  • Renewability: Yes, renewable to age 85 (for select plans only)
  • Convertibility: Yes, convertible before age 75 (for select plans only)
  • Added complementary benefits: Terminal illness benefit — insured may be eligible for a 50% advance of the coverage amount in the event of terminal illness, up to a $250,000
  • Other types of insurance: Permanent insurance, critical illness insurance, disability insurance, health & dental 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 allow this only up to age 70 or 71
  • Multiple options to convert into permanent life insurance: whole life or universal life
  • Fully underwritten or non-medical coverage options available
  • Flexibility to choose the coverage period that fits your needs (ranging from 5 to 40 years)
  • Coverage amounts up to $25 million, one of the highest in the Canadian market
  • Online application process
  • Digital e-policy

Sun Life insurance cons

  • Premiums can be higher than competitors’
  • Underwriting can be strict if you have existing health concerns
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About 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 $1.6 trillion CAD worth of assets under management (AUM) across the world.

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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 cost?

Sun Life’s term life insurance may be priced above some lower‑cost options, but it also gives you access to higher coverage limits, offering stronger protection for your loved ones. The table below shows 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.

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: premiums are based on non-smokers in good health, with a $500,000 benefit and a 20-year term.

What types of term life insurance policies does Sun Life Insurance offer?

Sun Life Insurance offers three different term life insurance products. We’ve provided some details on them below.

Sun Life Evolve Term Insurance

Sun Life Evolve Term is a flexible term life insurance product with options that adapt as your life needs evolve.

  • Coverage starts at $50,000 and goes up to $25 million
  • Renewable terms ranging from 5 to 40 years, depending on your age
  • Option to increase your coverage at key life stages
  • Option to switch to a longer term length
  • Guaranteed conversion to permanent insurance, regardless of health (option only applies until you reach age 75)
  • Choose to make premium payments monthly or annually
  • Joint-first-to-die and multiple life coverage options available
  • Comes with optional benefits such as children’s insurance riders, waiver of premium on total disability, guaranteed insurability, and accidental death benefit

Sun Life Go Term Life Insurance

This Sun Life insurance plan 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 Evolve
  • Premiums are much higher than those for 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

sun life insurance review

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.

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 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. Cash value begins after year 1.
  • Sun Par Accelerator. Built for high-income earners. Guaranteed to be fully paid-up in eight years. Provides high cash values in a short period of time.

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 21 investment options, six Cost-of-Insurance options, and five death benefit options. Coverage ranges from $100,000 to $25 million.
  • SunUniversalLife Pro. Designed specifically for corporations, business owners, and professionals. Coverage ranges from $100,000 to $15 million.
  • 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. Coverage ranges from $25,000 to $5 million.

Critical illness insurance will give you a one-time lump-sum payment if you become sick with a serious illness and meet the policy requirements (including any survival period). 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. The insurance provides comprehensive coverage in amounts from $25,000 to $4 million for adults and from $25,000 to $1 million for 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: $4 million for adults and up to $1 million for children
  • 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 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.

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 helps cover ongoing health-care and personal-assistance costs when you can no longer care for yourself, such as help with daily activities or supervision due to diminished physical or cognitive ability

Sun Life in Canada offers long-term care coverage through Sun Retirement Health Assist to protect against healthcare costs in retirement. It provides a monthly income-style benefit, paying between $125 and $2,300 per week.

How 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. 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.

Speak with a professional insurance advisor

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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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different term life insurance options available with Sun Life?
With Sun Life, you can choose from different term life insurance options. Based on your budget and coverage requirements, you can choose a suitable plan and get the most affordable price.

Is Sun Life a good insurance company?
Yes, Sun Life is a reputable insurance company. It has over $1 trillion CAD worth of assets under management (AUM) across the world, which demonstrates its stable financial strength. The company has also received an A+ rating as per A.M. Best ratings.

How is the cost of Sun Life insurance policy determined?
The cost of Sun Life insurance policy depends on the coverage, age, gender, riders, and a few other factors. Moreover, premiums for a non-smoker are lower than those for a smoker. You can consult our advisor to get the exact premium you need to pay for Sun Life insurance policy.

What happens if I miss Sun Life insurance premium payment?
Sun Life insurance policies usually include a grace period. If a policy lapses, reinstatement may be available within a specified window (subject to conditions). Check your policy contract for exact terms.

SUMMARY

Sun Life is a leading life insurance company in Canada that offers a range of life insurance plans to meet the diverse coverage needs of Canadians. You can choose from Sun Life Go, Sun Life Go Simplified, and Sun Life Evolve Term Insurance, depending on your needs and budget.

Written By
Carly Griffin
Senior Insurance Advisor, LLQP
Carly Griffin is a senior insurance advisor based in Ontario. A Western University graduate, she has been in the insurance industry since 2017 and brings years of experience helping Canadians secure life insurance and financial peace of mind.
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Carly Griffin is a senior insurance advisor based in Ontario. A Western University graduate, she has been in the insurance industry since 2017 and brings years of experience helping Canadians secure life insurance and financial peace of mind.