For brokers placing individual life business in Canada, the third-quarter results from Sagicor Financial Company Ltd. (TSX: SFC) carry a reassuring signal buried beneath a headline loss figure. ivari – the Toronto-based Canadian individual life insurer operating under the Sagicor group – holds an A financial strength rating from AM Best, upgraded in July 2026 following its further integration into the Sagicor group after its 2023 acquisition, according to AM Best’s Canadian life and annuity market segment report published September 21, 2026.
The loss figure itself reflects a sector-wide accounting dynamic rather than a deterioration in the underlying book. Sagicor Financial posted a net loss to shareholders of US$22.6 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026 – a reversal from net income of US$81.0 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The company reports in US dollars because of its Caribbean and US operations, despite its TSX listing and Canadian operations. The loss was driven by mark-to-market accounting losses on fixed-income assets caused by higher interest rates in both Canada and the US, according to the company’s Q3 2026 results released November 11, 2026.
Core earnings to shareholders – a non-IFRS measure that strips out those market-driven revaluations – rose 10% year-on-year to US$38.6 million, with annualised core return on shareholders’ equity reaching 15.1%, up from 13.7% in Q3 2025.
André Mousseau, president and chief executive officer of Sagicor Financial Company Ltd, addressed the gap between the two figures directly. “We continued to experience net income volatility due to marking our assets to market in a rising rate environment in the third quarter in both Canada and the United States. These accounting losses due to revaluation of fixed income assets are expected to be reflected in higher rates of return on assets backing capital in future periods,” he said.
Read more: AM Best keeps a stable outlook on Canadian life insurers - with one growing caveat
Sagicor is not the only Canadian life carrier reporting this pattern. The Empire Life Insurance Company, based in Kingston, Ontario, posted a common shareholders’ net loss of $23 million in Q3 2026, compared to net income of $93 million in Q3 2025. The company attributed the decline primarily to unfavourable interest rate movements on its fixed-income portfolio, according to Empire Life’s Q3 2026 results published November 3, 2026.
Great-West Lifeco, Manulife, and Sun Life also reported lower consolidated net earnings in Q3 2026, with financial market movements cited as a contributing factor, according to Investment Executive’s report on Canadian insurer Q3 results published November 6, 2026.
The underlying reason is structural. Life insurers concentrate large portions of their invested assets in fixed-income securities to match the long-duration liabilities of their products. Bonds represent approximately 67% of total invested assets in the Canadian life and annuity sector, according to the AM Best September 2026 report. When interest rates rise, the market value of existing bond holdings falls, generating accounting losses even as the core business remains profitable.
The Bank of Canada held its overnight rate at 2.25% on September 2, 2026 – its seventh consecutive decision without a change – noting that upside risks to inflation had increased and that it remained prepared to adjust monetary policy as needed.
Read more: What Sagicor's Q2 results mean for ivari policyholders and brokers
For brokers tracking ivari’s operational health, net premiums at the Canadian segment came in at US$115.1 million for Q3 2026, up 6% year-on-year. Core earnings at Sagicor Canada were US$25.3 million, down 5% from Q3 2025 in US dollar terms, with the company noting the decline partly reflected a weaker Canadian dollar against the US dollar.
Across the broader market, Canadian life insurance new annualized premium reached a record $2.3 billion in 2025, up 4% from the prior year, with whole life premiums rising 10% and accounting for 70% of the premium market, according to AM Best. All Canadian life and annuity insurers rated by AM Best held financial strength ratings of A- or higher as of August 31, 2026, with no downgrades recorded in the previous 12 months.
Sagicor Financial’s Group Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio – a capital adequacy measure set under guidelines from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) – stood at 133% at the end of Q3 2026. The board declared a quarterly dividend of US 7.5 cents per common share on November 11, 2026, payable December 6, 2026. Sagicor Jamaica shareholders also approved a scheme of arrangement in October 2026 to consolidate the group’s two Caribbean segments under a single new entity, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2027.
