Manulife and Sun Life are two powerhouses in the insurance industry in Canada. They have very high profiles and often offer a wide range of options for interested clients. This article will help you make a comparison in terms of life insurance between the two companies.
Manulife Insurance
Manulife is now the largest insurance provider in Canada. Founded in 1887, they have been the pioneer in a lot of niches in the Canadian insurance industry. Their product lines are comprehensive and diverse, along with numerous add-ons. Overall, Manulife has excellent ratings from independent rating companies such as Moody’s, A.M Best, Fitch Rating (updated on September 30, 2021).
For life insurance, apart from traditional insurance such as term life insurance and permanent life, they provide a bundle insurance product named Manulife Synergy, which combines the features of three types of insurance: life insurance, critical illness insurance and disability insurance.
| Category | Plans available |
| Term Life Insurance (6) | -CoverMe Term life insurance ($100,000–$1 million in coverage) – Family Term ($100,000–$20 million in coverage) – Business Term ($100,000–$20 million in coverage) – Family Term with Vitality ($500,000–$20 million in coverage) – CoverMe Easy Issue ($50,000–$75,000 in coverage) – Manulife Quick Issue Term ($100,000–$500,000 in coverage) – Manulife Synergy ($100,000–$500,000 in coverage) |
| Whole Life Insurance (2) | – Manulife Par (coverage from $100,000) – Performax Gold (coverage from $25,000) |
| Universal Life Insurance (3) | – Innovision (coverage from $100,000) – Security UL (coverage from $50,000) – Manulife UL (coverage from $50,000) |
Sun Life Insurance
Sun Life is the second-largest insurance provider in the Canadian industry. Sun Life receives a rating of A+ from AM Best in terms of financial strength. Sun Life life insurance includes term life insurance, permanent life insurance, participating life insurance and universal life insurance. In each of the categories, they offer more than one choice for applicants.
| Category | Plans available |
| Term Life Insurance (4) | – Sun Life Go Simplified Term Life Insurance (coverage from $50,000) -SunSpectrum Term Life Insurance (coverage from $50,000) – Sun Life Go Term Life Insurance (coverage from $100,000) – SunTerm Life Insurance (coverage from $250,000) |
| Permanent Life Insurance (2) | – Sun Life Go Guaranteed Life Insurance ($5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, or $25,000) – SunSpectrum Permanent Life II ($10,000 – $10 million in coverage) |
| Whole Life Insurance/Participating Life Insurance (3) | – Sun Par Protector II (0 – 17: $25,000 to $ 15 million; 18 – 85: $50,000 to $ 15 million) – Sun Par Accumulator II ($250,000 – $15 million in coverage) – Sun Par Accelerator ($250,000 – $15 million in coverage) |
| Universal Life Insurance (3) | – SunSpectrum Universal Life II – SunUniversalLife II – SunUniversalLife Pro |
Sun Life Insurance Products vs. Manulife Insurance Products
| Manulife Life Insurance | Sun Life Life Insurance |
| Term Life Insurance – Terms are limited to 10 years or 20 years or payable to 65 – Offer both traditional life insurance and no medical life insurance – Convertible | Term Life Insurance – Terms are limited to 10, 15, 20 or 30 years – Offer both traditional life insurance and no medical life insurance – Convertible |
| Whole Life Insurance – Coverage starts from $25,000 – Single life or Joint last-to-die options – Guaranteed payment duration for 10 or 20 years – Cash value is included | Whole Life Insurance – Coverage ranges from $25,000 to $15 million – Single life or Joint last-to-die options – Guaranteed payment duration for 10 or 20 years – Eligible for those from 0-85 Include dividend options: – Paid-up additional insurance; – Enhanced insurance; Annual premium reduction; – Dividends on deposit; – Cash payment |
| Universal Life Insurance Investment options: – Multiple investment account options are available – Guaranteed rate enhancement on managed accounts – Guaranteed premium for a shorter, guaranteed period of time | Universal Life Insurance Investment options: – Daily interest account (DIA) – Guaranteed interest account – Managed accounts – Option to elect reduced paid-up insurance |
| Manulife Synergy – 100,000 to $500,000 in coverage – Benefits are a combination of critical illness, life and disability insurance benefits – Convertible – Adds-on: Policyholders can choose to add a renewable 10-year term or Term-to-65 life to their insurance policy – Child riders are available |
Which is Better?
As we can see from the table, the services offered by the two are quite on par.
Pros and Cons
Plus points
- Both companies have a very solid financial base, and thus, customers can entrust their money to the companies
- Both insurance companies provide ample details on different insurance plans on their websites
- Both insurance companies offer multiple plans, with sample contracts available on their websites
- Both companies have a wide network of brokers and agents across Canada
- Term life insurance from both companies is convertible to whole life insurance
| Manulife | Sun Life |
– Accelerated underwriting for customers over 50 with good health. Manulife offers $2 million in coverage with no underwriting requirements – Digital policy options: Manulife was one of the first providers to have e-delivery of insurance products – Early payout options available: A cash benefit will be issued (terms and limitations considered) if customers contract a terminal illness – Savings on future premiums thanks to Manulife Vitality: Manulife is also the only Canadian insurance provider to develop a reward system called Manulife Vitality product that rewards to policyholders with lower premiums. Also, they have a wide range of options for investment when it comes to universal life insurance | – More detailed information for clients on their websites – Multiple insurance products are available |
Minus points
Term life insurance quotes are not among the cheapest in the market: both of their rates are quite competitive but not as affordable as some others in the industry.
| Manulife | Sun Life |
| – Manulife’s term life insurance rate is slightly higher than other companies. Their terms are limited to 10 or 20 years. – Since they have a wide range of options, it may sometimes be confusing for customers to study the products and quotes by themselves | Some plans offered by Sun Life cannot be quoted online, but clients are required to contact their advisor, which can be time-consuming. In addition, policyholders do not receive electronic insurance policies and have to do with paper policies. |
The bottom line
In conclusion, both insurance companies offer excellent services. However, it seems that products from Manulife insurance are more highly specified (except for their term life insurance). Manulife owns an exclusive bundle of insurance products – Manulife Synergy and a unique reward system for their clients. The company is also known for high customer satisfaction ratings.
For further inquiry on insurance quotes, more personalized advice, we’d like to point you to Insurance Direct Canada, an industry veteran, a trusted insurance broker across Canada.
You can also read detailed Sun Life review and Manulife review, iA Financial Group review, Canada Protection Plan review, etc. via the right button.
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