Citing a need to make up for decade-low interest rates in Canada, Sun Life Financial has announced that it has raised premium rates on some life insurance and critical illness products – by up to 27% for new applicants.
The insurer made the announcement shortly after it revealed that it would be offering financial relief options to its group benefits clients by offering a 50% credit per month against paid premiums for dental care.
Sun Life is increasing premium rates by 5% and 23% on average on its SunUniversalLife II product (depending on the type), a company release said. The insurer is also raising premiums on its Sun Permanent Life offerings by 7% and 27%, particularly for new applications received from 12 a.m. EDT onward from April 20, 2020.
In addition, the company is raising rates on some adult critical illness plans by 10%.
According to an email statement by Sun Life senior vice-president for insurance solutions Vineet Kochhar, the company has not raised rates for less interest-sensitive products for this round of adjustments. But he also told Reuters in the email that the premium increases are not related to “current or anticipated claims experience.”
