Sun Life Insurance Company Review
Sun Life, a Canadian insurance and financial services company, has been working hard to establish a larger presence in the US in recent years. These efforts have included a strong advertising and the purchase of the naming rights for the Miami Dolphins stadium. Sun Life should not be confused with SunAmerica, which is part of AIG.
The company was organized in 1865 as the Sun Insurance Company of Montreal by Matthew Hamilton Gault. Sun prospered and by World War I it was doing business all over the world. Its former headquarters in Montreal was the largest building in the British Empire when it was built in the 1920s. During World War II the British crown jewels were moved to the Sun Life Building from the Tower of London to keep them safe from the Nazis. The gold reserves of a number of European countries were kept in the same building during the war.
Sun Life moved its headquarters to Toronto in the 1970s in response to laws that mandated the use of the French language for business activities in Quebec. In the 1980s, the company entered the wealth management business and expanded its operations in India and China. In recent years, Sun Life has moved out of the financial services business by selling off operations such as mutual funds. Currently the company is the number #1 insurer in a number of areas in Canada, including Defined Contribution Plans.
Sun Life's Financial Ratings
Since it is largely unknown to Americans, many people have reservations about Sun Life. But the company gets very good ratings in financial strength from all four of the major US financial rating services.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) gave the company an AA-, or a very strong rating. This means that S&P's analysts feel that the Sun Life is strong enough to continue meeting its obligations under all but the most extreme financial conditions. It also means that there could be some room for improvement.
Moody's gave Sun Life an Aa3, or excellent, rating. This rank it near the top of the firm's rating scale. From a credit report posted at Sun Life's website it is clear that Moody's analysts think the insurer's position is strong in Canada but weak in the United States. It notes that it gave Sun's US operations a slightly lower rating. This could result from the fact that the Canadian economy is currently slightly stronger than the US economy.
A.M. Best gave Sun Life an A+, or superior, rating. This means that the company is likely to maintain its strong financial position. Best's analysts also noted Sun's strong position in Canada and commented on its innovative wealth protection products. Best did note that Sun Life's investment in the US commercial real estate market could leave it vulnerable to US economic volatility.
Sun Life received a slightly lower rating from Fitch last year. That rating firm's experts gave it a grade of A-. This means that they feel it has a slightly weaker financial position than comparable companies. Such a rating could result from the company's large involvement in the wealth management field and the US commercial mortgage market.
Sun Life Annuities
Sun Life offers a variety of variable and fixed annuity products, most of which appear to be retirement savings and planning vehicles. The variable policies offer guaranteed life time income provisions and death benefits. Fact sheets outlining the most vital details of these plans are available at the company's website.
The Masters Flex II variable plan is a deferred vehicle that offers no withdrawal charges after four years. It also comes with an annual insurance charge of 1.65%. Inflation protection appears to be available on all of the variable plans. Some of the variable plans, including the Masters I, are not available in every state.
Fixed annuities with five, six and seven year term options are also available. The brochures and current rates for all of the annuities are available online. The only fixed product listed on the company's site is the Keyport Value, which features a minimum initial payment of $5,000. No indexed annuities offerings are mentioned on the company's website.
Sun Life Insurance
Sun offers both variable and universal life insurance policies but not term life. It also offers a variety of corporate life insurance policies for the business market. The universal and variable policies seem to be fairly standard and would be a good deal those needing above-average protection.
Sun Life Investments and Financial Planning
Sun also offers a variable investment platform that gives its customers access to a variety of products including retail mutual funds offered by top funds companies. A number of investment programs are available through this platform including a Masters Investment program. These investments can be combined with those in annuities and variable universal life insurance policies.
The Masters Investment program lets an investor build his or her own portfolio of mutual funds from offerings from several top companies. These include Fidelity, Invesco, and Sun Capital Advisors. Sun also provides employee benefit services to corporations.
Sun is an excellent choice for those seeking a variable or universal insurance policy, a variable annuity, or mutual fund investment. Its other investment offerings are limited and appear to be geared towards higher-income individuals.