Sun Life's Health Insurance: What You Need To Know

Sun Life offers a range of health insurance products to its customers. These include personal health insurance, critical illness insurance, long-term care insurance, and disability insurance. Sun Life's health insurance products aim to provide financial protection against the costs of medical events, such as injuries or illnesses. The company offers different plans, such as Basic, Standard, and Enhanced, to cater to varying needs and budgets. Additionally, Sun Life provides Health Coverage Choice, which is suitable for individuals who have left their group benefits plan and are seeking continued health coverage.

Personal health insurance

Sun Life offers Personal Health Insurance (PHI) plans to help cover health-related expenses that aren't covered by public healthcare or workplace benefits. This includes expenses such as prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, emergency travel medical services, and physiotherapy.

PHI is ideal for those who are self-employed, don't have workplace benefits, want to top up their employer's coverage, or are retired or nearing retirement. It can also be useful for those who don't want to pay out-of-pocket for health expenses not covered by their government or employer's plan.

Sun Life offers three types of PHI plans: Basic, Standard, and Enhanced. The Basic plan covers essential medical and dental needs at an affordable price. The Standard plan is the most popular, offering more coverage for prescription drugs than the Basic plan, as well as emergency medical coverage for travel. The Enhanced plan is the most comprehensive, offering the highest amount of coverage for prescription drugs and optional dental coverage for restorative and orthodontic services.

The cost of health insurance varies depending on factors such as age, location, and whether you want to include your spouse and dependents on your plan. Sun Life advisors can help individuals determine the right plan for their needs and provide customized quotes.

Critical illness insurance

Sun Life offers critical illness insurance (CII) to help cover the costs of coping with and recovering from a critical illness. This includes expenses that your provincial or territorial health plan doesn't cover, such as home-care costs, travel, accommodation, lost work wages, and childcare costs.

Sun Life's CII provides a lump-sum payment that can be used for any expenses, allowing the policyholder to focus on their recovery. The coverage amount depends on the specific plan and ranges from $25,000 to $3,000,000 for adults and $25,000 to $1,000,000 for children. The adult plans cover 26 critical illnesses for a full payout, 8 minor illnesses for a partial payout, and 5 additional illnesses for children.

Sun Critical Illness Insurance is the company's most comprehensive CII policy, while Express Critical Illness Insurance offers instant online approval without a medical exam or blood work. The Basic plan covers cancer, the Enhanced plan covers cancer, heart attacks, and strokes, and the Comfort plan covers additional critical illnesses.

When considering critical illness insurance, it is important to review your existing insurance policies and determine if additional coverage is needed. Sun Life advisors can help individuals assess their specific needs and choose the most suitable insurance products.

Long-term care insurance

Sun Life offers long-term care insurance (LTCI) to help Canadians pay for the increased healthcare and personal assistance care that is typically needed in later life. LTCI is a type of health insurance that covers care over a long period when the individual can no longer take care of themselves.

LTCI can help pay for the following types of care:

• Nursing care, rehabilitation and therapy
• Personal care, such as help with dressing, eating, or bathing
• Homemaking, such as meal preparation, cleaning, or laundry
• Constant supervision and assistance, if required

LTCI can be used for care at home, in a retirement residence, or in a long-term care facility. It provides a comprehensive income-style benefit when the individual becomes dependent, helping to protect them and their family financially.

There are two options for long-term care insurance:

• Reimbursement of specific expenses, such as homemaking or private nursing services
• An income-style benefit, where the individual receives money monthly to use as they choose

LTCI can help relieve the emotional, physical, and financial stress on caregivers, as well as help cover the cost of care if the individual is unable to care for themselves due to declining cognitive or physical abilities. It can also help pay for assistance with daily activities, such as bathing and dressing.

Some plans offer unique features, such as the option to protect benefits against inflation and the option to return premiums to the individual's estate if they haven't received any payments.

With LTCI, individuals can focus on finding the best care for their needs without worrying about the cost. Sun Life's LTCI plans are designed to meet the specific needs of the individual, with options such as Sun Retirement Health Assist, which offers health care and personal care if the individual loses the ability to care for themselves after age 65.

Disability insurance

Sun Life offers disability insurance, which is a type of health insurance that replaces a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to a serious illness or injury. This insurance is designed to protect you financially and help you meet your financial obligations while you focus on your health and recovery.

There are two types of disability insurance: short-term and long-term. Short-term disability benefits are paid out almost immediately after an injury or diagnosis, whereas long-term disability benefits have longer waiting periods and are intended to maintain income replacement if you remain out of work beyond the short-term period.

Canadian disability insurance plans can cover a range of conditions beyond physical disabilities, including mental health issues, autoimmune diseases, chronic pain and fatigue disorders, and neurological disorders. These plans typically replace between 60% to 90% of your regular income up to a specified maximum amount for a specified time period.

Sun Life's disability insurance provides income protection and clinical and vocational support to help disabled employees move forward with their lives. Their clinical model is based on interdisciplinary best practices, specialty resources, and collaborative action planning, delivered with empathy and encouragement.

Health Coverage Choice

Sun Life's Health Coverage Choice is an option for those who are leaving a group benefits plan that provided health benefits. If you're in this situation, you can apply for Health Coverage Choice and get a lifetime coverage maximum of up to $300,000. This option is available to those aged 18-74, who have 60 days after their workplace or retiree group coverage ends to replace it with Health Coverage Choice.

There are three Health Coverage Choice plans available, which cover you, your spouse, and your dependent children. The plans are as follows:

Health and Dental Choice A

• No emergency travel medical coverage
• Core medical, vision, and dental expenses covered at an affordable cost

Health Choice B

An enhanced plan that provides expanded medical coverage, including emergency travel medical and optional dental

Health Choice C

A complete solution if you and your family need medical, emergency travel medical, and optional dental coverage with higher annual and lifetime coverage maximums

If you want higher coverage levels and are willing to undergo medical underwriting, you can look into Personal Health Insurance.

Frequently asked questions