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- Both Sun Life and Empire Life are established insurers offering term life policies with predictable premiums, guaranteed renewability, and the option to convert coverage to permanent insurance, making them reliable choices for long-term financial protection
- Sun Life differentiates itself through its highly flexible policy design, offering customizable term lengths from 5 to 40 years, multi-life coverage options, and a broader selection of riders for enhanced personalization
- Empire Life’s term insurance focuses on structured coverage planning, allowing policyholders to bundle multiple term lengths within a single policy and gradually align coverage with declining financial obligations
Not all term life insurance policies are built the same, even when they appear similar. The real difference often lies in how insurers structure flexibility, handle long-term conversion, and support evolving financial needs. This is where Empire Life and Sun Life start to diverge.
Both companies offer strong term life insurance solutions with core features like level premiums, renewability, and conversion to permanent coverage. However, their features are still different. These differences become especially important to look at when you consider real-life scenarios such as managing multiple financial obligations, planning for long-term insurability, or designing coverage that evolves over time.
In this guide, we break down Empire Life vs Sun Life in detail to help you understand not just what they offer, but how well each option fits into your overall financial strategy.
Sun Life stands out for its flexibility, scalability, and customization, offering a wide range of term lengths, strong multi-life options, and an extensive selection of riders. It is best suited for individuals with complex or evolving insurance needs.
Empire Life excels in structured coverage design and planning efficiency, with features like bundled term policies and partial conversion that support long-term financial strategies.
Quick verdict
Choose Sun Life if:
- You want highly customizable term lengths (5 to 40 years)
- You need multi-life coverage for families or business use
- You prefer a broader range of riders
Choose BMO if:
- You want to bundle multiple term lengths within a single policy
- You value partial/full conversion flexibility to permanent insurance
- You want a lower starting coverage threshold ($25,000)
Why Sun Life vs. Empire Life is a common comparison
Term life insurance decisions are rarely about choosing between a “good” and a “bad” provider. More often, the challenge is selecting between two strong insurers that take very different approaches to solving the same problem. That is exactly the case with Empire Life and Sun Life term life insurance.
Both companies deliver reliable term life coverage backed by strong financial stability and industry experience. They provide the essential features most Canadians expect, such as predictable premiums, renewal options, and the ability to transition into permanent insurance later in life.
What makes this comparison meaningful is not the basics, but how each insurer structures flexibility and planning. For buyers, this creates a practical decision: do you want a policy that is pre-structured for financial efficiency, or one that is highly customizable to fit complex or evolving needs?
This comparison breaks down those differences in detail, helping you choose the option that fits your financial strategy rather than just your immediate coverage requirement.
Sun Life vs. Empire Life at a glance
| Feature | Empire Life | Sun Life |
| Founded | 1923 | 1865 |
| Headquarters | Kingston, Ontario | Toronto, Ontario |
| Market presence | Mid-sized insurer focused on flexible product design | One of Canada’s largest insurers with global presence |
| AM Best rating | A | A+ |
| LICAT ratio (approx.) | ~151% | ~150% |
| Total assets (approx.) | ~$1.4 billion | ~$1.4 trillion (parent company) |
About Sun Life term life insurance
Sun Life term life insurance is designed to offer flexible and customizable financial protection for individuals and families with a wide range of coverage needs. Its flagship product, Sun Life Evolve Term, allows policyholders to choose from a broad range of term lengths, typically between 5 and 40 years, making it easier to align coverage with specific financial goals.
Sun Life also supports multiple coverage structures, including multi-life options, which makes it suitable for families, business owners, and individuals with more complex insurance requirements.
Because of its high level of flexibility and customization, Sun Life is often chosen by individuals who want more control over how their policy is structured. It focuses on delivering adaptable life insurance solutions that can evolve alongside changing financial responsibilities and long-term planning needs.
Key features of Sun Life term life insurance
1. Level, guaranteed premiums: Premiums remain fixed throughout the selected term, ensuring stability in payments. This helps maintain predictable insurance costs and supports effective long-term financial planning
2. Flexible term options: The policy offers a wide range of term lengths, typically from 5 to 40 years. This flexibility allows policyholders to align their coverage precisely with financial goals such as loans, income protection, or future obligations
3. Conversion flexibility: Policyholders can convert their term insurance into permanent coverage without providing medical evidence. This option is generally available until age 75, offering flexibility to adapt coverage as long-term needs evolve
4. Built-in renewal structure: The policy can be renewed without medical underwriting at the end of the term, ensuring continued coverage even if health conditions change. Coverage can typically extend up to age 85
5. Coverage structures: Multiple coverage structures are available, including single life, joint first-to-die, and multi-life policies covering up to five insured individuals. This allows for tailored protection based on personal, family, or business needs
6. Optional riders and add-ons: A variety of riders can be added to enhance coverage, including child term benefit, guaranteed insurability, accidental death benefit, disability waiver, and business or partner protection riders. These options provide additional flexibility and customization
Pros and cons of Sun Life term life insurance
| Pros | Cons |
| Highly flexible term lengths | Less structured bundling |
| Strong multi-life coverage options | Living Benefit is discretionary |
| Wide range of riders | |
| High coverage limits |
About Empire Life term life insurance
Empire Life term life insurance is designed to provide structured and efficient financial protection for individuals who want coverage aligned with specific financial responsibilities and long-term planning needs. The insurer’s Solution Series Term Life Insurance offers a range of term options, including 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years, as well as an annual renewable term option, allowing policyholders to choose coverage based on their goals.
The plan allows policyholders to maintain coverage for the selected term as long as premiums are paid, offering a predictable and stable protection structure. A key feature of Empire Life’s term plan is the ability to bundle multiple term lengths within a single policy, helping align coverage with changing financial obligations over time.
Due to its structured design and ability to combine different coverage durations, Empire Life is often chosen by individuals looking for efficient, planning-focused protection without overly complex customization.
Key features of Empire Life term life insurance
1. Level, guaranteed premiums: Premiums remain fixed throughout the selected term, providing stability in insurance costs. This predictability supports long-term financial planning and helps policyholders manage their budgets with confidence
2. Multiple term options: The plan offers a variety of term lengths, including 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years, and Solution ART. This range allows policyholders to align their coverage with both short-term and long-term financial needs
3. Conversion flexibility: Policyholders can convert part or all of their term coverage into permanent insurance without providing medical evidence. This option is typically available until age 75, offering flexibility to adapt coverage as life circumstances change
4. Built-in renewal structure: The policy can be renewed without medical underwriting at the end of the term, ensuring continued coverage even if health conditions change. The renewal structure varies by plan type, and coverage can extend up to age 85
5. Coverage bundling: Multiple term lengths can be combined within a single policy, allowing coverage to adjust alongside decreasing financial obligations. This helps optimize protection while avoiding the need for multiple separate policies
6. Optional riders: A range of optional riders is available to enhance coverage, including waiver of premium, guaranteed insurability rider, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and children’s life and critical illness riders. These add-ons provide greater flexibility and customization
Pros and cons of Empire Life term life insurance
| Pros | Cons |
| Strong, structured coverage design | Multi-life limited to two lives |
| Supports coverage bundling | Renewal rules can be complex |
| Conversion flexibility | |
| Lower minimum coverage entry |
Sun Life vs. Empire Life comparison
| Feature | Sun Life term insurance | Empire Life term insurance |
| Term plan options | Sun Life Evolve Term | Solution Series (10–30 + ART) |
| Term length flexibility | Flexible 5–40 years | Fixed terms |
| Renewability | Renewable without medical evidence up to age 85 | Renewable without medical evidence up to age 85 (varies based on plan option) |
| Convertibility | Conversion up to age 75 | Full and partial conversion up to age 75 |
| Coverage limit | Up to $25 million | Up to $20 million |
Our Ratings
Who should choose Sun Life?
Sun Life is a good choice for those who:
- Want flexibility: Sun Life offers flexible term lengths from 5 to 40 years, allowing precise alignment with financial goals
- Need multi-life coverage: Sun Life offers coverage for multiple lives, up to 5 individuals, making it Ideal for families or business owners needing coverage for multiple individuals
- Prefer more rider options: Sun Life provides a broader range of add-ons for enhanced protection. These riders help to customize the coverage as per needs
Who should choose Empire Life?
Empire Life is a good choice for those who:
- Prefer bundling: Empire Life allows bundling of multiple term lengths within one policy, making it ideal for aligning coverage with liabilities like mortgages and loans
- Want conversion flexibility: You can convert part of your policy to permanent life insurance while keeping some term coverage active
- Want lower starting coverage amounts: Empire Life term insurance provides coverage from $25,000, making it a good choice for those with short-term needs
Final Verdict: Sun Life or Empire Life
Best overall: Sun Life
Sun Life takes the lead overall due to its highly flexible policy design, wider term range, and stronger customization options. It is particularly well-suited for individuals who want coverage that can be tailored precisely to their financial goals and adjusted over time.
Best for flexibility: Sun Life
Sun Life offers significantly greater flexibility in term lengths, riders, and coverage structures. It is better suited for individuals who want highly customizable insurance solutions.
Best for overage structure: Empire Life
Empire Life excels in structured coverage design, particularly with its ability to bundle multiple term lengths within one policy.
Best for conversion options: Empire Life
Empire Life has an edge with its partial conversion feature, allowing policyholders to convert only a portion of their term coverage into permanent insurance while keeping the rest intact. This adds a layer of strategic flexibility that Sun Life does not offer in the same way.
Best for families and multi-life coverage: Sun Life
Sun Life supports multi-life coverage for up to five insured individuals, making it a stronger choice for families or business owners who want to cover multiple people under one policy structure.
Best for riders and add-ons: Sun Life
Sun Life offers a broader and more diverse rider ecosystem, including options for business protection and enhanced personal coverage, making it more suitable for individuals who want to customize their policy extensively.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better: Empire Life or Sun Life for term life insurance in Canada?
Sun Life is generally a better choice; it is well-suited for individuals who want maximum flexibility, including customizable term lengths (5 to 40 years), broader rider options, and multi-life coverage structures. It works well for complex financial planning, such as business protection or high-net-worth estate strategies.
Can I convert both Empire Life and Sun Life term policies to permanent insurance?
Yes, both Empire Life and Sun Life allow you to convert your term life insurance policy into permanent life insurance without requiring new medical underwriting, which is a critical feature for long-term planning.
Empire Life offers both full and partial conversion, allowing you to convert a portion of your coverage while keeping the remaining term policy active. This provides greater flexibility for gradually transitioning into permanent coverage. Sun Life offers conversion options, typically available until age 75, allowing you to switch entirely to a permanent policy.
Which insurer is better for first-time life insurance buyers?
Sun Life is often more suitable for first-time buyers who want clear, structured coverage without excessive complexity. Empire Life’s bundled coverage and term-exchange feature often make it difficult to understand. However, it can still be a good choice for first-time buyers who are working with an advisor, such as one from PolicyAdvisor.
Which company offers better flexibility in term lengths and coverage design?
Sun Life offers significantly more flexibility in terms of term length customization and overall policy design. With options ranging from 5 to 40 years, it allows you to align coverage very precisely with financial milestones, such as mortgages, income replacement, or retirement planning.
Which insurer is better for long-term financial planning and estate strategies?
Both insurers can support long-term planning, but they do so in different ways.
Empire Life is better for individuals who want efficient, structured planning, particularly for scenarios where coverage needs decrease over time. Its bundling and partial conversion features make it effective for transitioning from term to permanent coverage gradually.
Sun Life is better suited for complex financial and estate planning strategies, especially when customization, high coverage amounts, and multiple insured individuals are involved. Its flexible term lengths and broader rider ecosystem provide more tools for advanced planning.
What is the living benefit access under Empire Life?
Under Empire Life term life insurance, the living benefit allows policyholders diagnosed with a terminal illness to access up to 50% of the death benefit (maximum $50,000) while still alive. The amount is paid as a lump sum and is deducted, along with any interest, from the final payout to beneficiaries. This feature helps cover medical or personal expenses during a critical health situation.
Compare Empire Life vs Sun Life term life insurance in Canada. Learn how they differ in flexibility, coverage structure, pricing, and riders. Find out which insurer is better suited for your financial goals and long-term protection needs.
