Sun Life vs. Desjardins life insurance are leading cooperative financial institutions in Canada. They offer similar insurance services, and we will focus on the life insurance services they provide in this comparison.
Overview of Life Insurance Products
Desjardins Insurance
Desjardin offers quite a collection of life insurance plans. These insurance plans are term life insurance, permanent life insurance, and universal life insurance. Desjardins offers other types of life insurance plans in distinct categories.
- Term 10 Life Insurance: In term 10 life insurance, the insurance plan lasts for 10 years until 85 years of age. It can be converted to term 20 or term 30 without medical underwriting. You can also convert it to permanent life insurance up to the age of 70.
- Term 20 Life Insurance: It is used as income replacement and debt protection. It can be removed every 20 years and last till age 85. The plan is convertible to Term 30 without insurability proof. You can equally convert it to permanent insurance up to age 70 without medical underwriting.
- Term 30 Life Insurance: This policy is renewable only after the expiration of the initial term. You cannot exchange it for a longer insurance term, but it is convertible to permanent insurance at 70 years without any guarantee.
- Term-to-age-65: This nonrenewable plan protects you during the years your financial dependents need it the most. It is only convertible to a permanent life insurance plan up to age 60.
- Life insurance basic coverage is a permanent life insurance plan available for people aged 50 to 75. The plan has coverage of up to $5000, $7000, $15000, or $20000. You can also access up to 50% of the policy face value if you develop a terminal disease with less than a year to live. The plan also has a 30-day trial period and five times benefit in the event of accelerated death up to 85 years.
- Life insurance personalized coverage is available for people between 65 to 100 years. The plan has about $1000 to $10 million coverage. There is a requirement for medical tests, and there is an option to stop premium payment and keep up the coverage.
- Life insurance participating coverage allows you to receive annual dividends when Desjardins makes a profit. You can use the accrued bonus to reduce your overall insurance premium. This plan does not require proof of good health to buy additional coverage.
- The universal life insurance plan provides coverage and builds your cash value until death.
Read more: Desjardins Life Insurance Company Review
Sun Life Insurance
Sun Life Insurance offers Term Life, Whole Life, Participating Life, and Universal Life insurance policies. Each of these categories is further subgrouped into different types.
- Sun Life Go Simplified Term Insurance has coverage of $50000, $75000, or $100000 with payments remaining the same for 10 years. All there is to be done to complete the process is to take 3 medical tests.
- Sun Life Go Term Life Insurance lets you get coverage from $100000 to $1 million, with payments staying the same for 10 to 20 years. Like the Go Simplified Term insurance, you will be required to answer eight health questions, and taking a medical exam may be required. The cost of coverage varies for a $100000 policy when using Sun Life’s quotation tool.
For example, a 30-year-old person living in Ontario and has not smoked in the past year:
Male | |
Sun Life Go Simplified Term | $24.60/month [10 years] |
Sun Life Go Term Life | $12.27/month [10 years] |
Sun Life Go Term Life | $14.27/month [20 years] |
Female | |
Sun Life Go Simplified Term | $24.60/month [10 years] |
Sun Life Go Term Life | $10.05/month [10 years] |
Sun Life Go Term Life | $12.09/month [20 years] |
- SunSpectrum Term Insurance and SunTerm Insurance are similar insurance plans that Sun Life offers. You can get coverage of about $15 million or $15 million, and the premiums remain the same for up to 30 years.
- Sun Life permanent insurance has a coverage of up to $10 million. The participating life insurance covers up to $15 million.
To choose a policy from the last permanent, participating, and universal insurance, you need to talk to your insurer to get an insurance quote.
Read more: Sun Life – Company Review
Sun Life vs. Desjardins: Comparing Life Insurance Costs
A crucial part of any life insurance comparison is assessing costs. Premium rates can vary greatly depending on:
- Age
- Health and medical history
- Lifestyle factors like smoking
- Coverage amount
- Term length
- Product types and features
To give a general sense of pricing, Sun Life does tend to offer more affordable premium rates, especially for younger and healthier applicants.
For example, a 30-year-old non-smoking male could get the following quotes:
- Sun Life Go Term, $500,000 coverage, 20 years = $312 annually
- Desjardins Term 20, $500K coverage, 20 years = $648 annually
Given their personalized nature, quotes for permanent and universal life insurance are harder to generalize. However, Sun Life’s pricing advantage holds up relatively well across ages and policy types.
Sun Life vs. Desjardins: Comparing Features, Riders, and Benefits
Pricing isn’t everything. Life insurance policies’ specific features, riders, and benefits also deserve close evaluation.
Both insurers offer robust living benefits to enhance their life insurance protection:
Sun Life
- Terminal illness rider – early payout if life expectancy <12 months
- Waiver of premium – waives payments if disabled
- Child protection rider – adds coverage for children
- Conversion – convert term policies to permanent life
- Accidental death benefit
Desjardins
- Waiver of premium – waives payments if disabled
- Child protection rider
- Conversion – convert term policies to permanent life
- Terminal illness benefit – early payout if life expectancy <12 months
- Fracture benefit – payout for fractures from accidents
- Best Doctors service – healthcare guidance
Sun Life and Desjardins offer quite aligned features. Both offer key protections like disability waivers, early payouts for terminal illnesses, and convertibility between policy types.
Desjardins has a few more niche offerings, like fracture benefits and Best Doctors healthcare assistance. But both cover core riders for critical, terminal, and accidental conditions.
Sun Life and Desjardins are quite evenly matched regarding policy features and benefits beyond cost. Canadians can build adequate protections through either insurer.
Sun Life vs. Desjardins: Comparing Customer Service
How easy is it to get insured and receive ongoing support? Customer service and accessibility should be prime considerations when choosing life insurance.
Both Sun Life and Desjardins offer Canadians multiple ways to connect for quotes, enrollment, and servicing needs.
Sun Life Customer Service
- Phone
- Live chat
- In-person advisors
- Mobile app
Desjardins Customer Service
- Phone
- In-person via agents
- Online portal
Sun Life provides more digital support through its mobile app and direct online chat. Their web and app tools also make quoting, applying, and managing policies highly convenient.
Desjardins requires working through an agent for much of the application process. However, their local in-person accessibility can benefit those wanting more guided support.
For responsiveness, Sun Life aims to receive same-day replies via email and chat. Desjardins commits to responding to inquiries within five business days.
Both insurers provide reliable customer support through multiple access points. However, Sun Life’s technology leadership and quicker response times give them an advantage in service accessibility for today’s digitally driven insurance consumers.
Sun Life vs Desjardins: Which Offers More Overall Value?
When all factors are considered together, a few key themes emerge in comparing Sun Life and Desjardins:
Sun Life Pros
- Lower premium rates
- Innovative digital insurance tools
- Quicker customer support response times
- Slightly higher financial and member satisfaction ratings
Desjardins Pros
- A broader variety of term life options
- Local in-person accessibility through agents
- Dividends returned to members
For most Canadians, Sun Life likely represents greater overall value. Their lower pricing and digital capabilities make life insurance highly affordable and convenient to manage.
Desjardins’ in-person member focus does provide an advantage for those wanting agent guidance or participation in policy dividends. However, overall costs may run higher.
In the end, determining the superior insurer depends on your budget, preferences, and need for personalized local advising.
An independent life insurance broker can provide tailored guidance while comparing Sun Life and Desjardins side-by-side for the best of both worlds.
Choosing Between Sun Life vs. Desjardins: Key Takeaways
Sun Life | Desjardins |
Term Life insurance policy requires a series of medical tests before you can complete your application process. | Term Life insurance types do not require medical underwriting while applying for them. |
The cost of taking care of terminal disease is covered by critical illness insurance, and the policy allows you to use the money at your discretion. | You can access up to 50% of the policy face value if you develop a terminal disease with less than a year to live. |
The participating life insurance allows you to receive dividends to reduce your insurance premium, but these dividends are not guaranteed. | The participating life insurance allows you to receive annual dividends when Desjardins makes a profit. You can use the accrued bonus to reduce your overall insurance premium. |
It is easy to get a quote for some Sun Life term life insurance products on their website. | Desjardins does not provide online insurance quotes, quotes can only be gotten through an agent |
Conclusion: Sun Life vs. Desjardins Comparison
Desjardins has a broader range of insurance options to choose from. In contrast, Sun Life has a more limited range of choices, but it is easier to choose what they want. To know which one is best for you may require the expertise of professional insurance brokers like Insurance Direct Canada.