Sun Life Financial Inc. reported second-quarter group insurance sales of CA$680 million, up 27% from a year earlier, as the Toronto-based insurer posted underlying net income of CA$1.123 billion for the period ended June 30, 2026, the company said in its August earnings release. Individual insurance sales rose 16% to CA$1.002 billion.
In the United States, sales climbed 43% to US$324 million, driven mainly by higher medical stop-loss sales. Sun Life attributed the gain to strong close rates and "continued pricing discipline supported by our risk selection tools," alongside favourable market conditions, according to the release. Lower Medicaid dental sales partly offset the increase.
The growth comes as the broader US stop-loss market hardens. Industry premiums have grown from CA$35.4 billion in annual premiums in 2025 to over CA$40 billion, as more employers self-funding meaning more risk in the pool and higher rates, according to BenefitSmith data. Industry-wide loss ratios have climbed to 85%, well above the historical 75% target, with carriers calling the trend unsustainable. Separately, Segal, a benefits consultancy, reported that average medical stop-loss premium increases accelerated to 12.7% in 2026, up from 9.7% the year before, based on its dataset of 225 health plans. Sun Life did not disclose its own average rate increases in the release.
US underlying net income rose 15% to US$164 million, reflecting medical stop-loss revenue growth and favourable experience in in-force management, the company said, though this was partly offset by weaker employee benefits results after a strong prior-year comparison.
Sun Life also said it was added to the digital platform of Centro, a US ancillary benefits consulting and technology firm that works with many of the country's top brokers. The new API connection automates the exchange of request-for-proposal data between Centro and Sun Life, replacing manual workflows. The company said the change is designed to let brokers "work faster and more accurately" when quoting group business for clients.
What this means for brokers: The Centro integration targets the RFP and quoting process directly, and comes as industry-wide stop-loss loss ratios sit at 85%, well above the historical 75% target. Brokers placing group and stop-loss business, especially through Centro, are best placed to test the faster turnaround - and should compare their carriers' rate increases against Segal's 12.7% sector average.
Companywide, reported net income was CA$1.008 billion, up 41% from CA$716 million a year earlier, aided by favourable public equity market impacts and the absence of a CA$61 million US dental impairment charge booked in the prior-year quarter, the release said. Underlying return on equity was 19.1%, up from 17.6% in the second quarter of 2025.
CEO Kevin Strain said in the release that the company "saw strong momentum across our health and individual protection businesses" during the quarter.
