Sun Life Financial Enhances Sun Universal ProtectorPlus By Adding Long Term Care Rider, Lowering Premiums

Wellesley, MA - The U. S. Division of Sun Life Financial recently announced several enhancements to its Sun Universal ProtectorPlus universal life product including a new, optional Long Term Care (LTC) rider that can provide up to $20,000 in monthly benefits for qualifying insureds, and reducing premiums from 3-8% for non-tobacco issue ages 35 – 65.

With these enhancements, Sun Universal ProtectorPlus offers a more competitive balance of low-cost death benefit protection coupled with high early cash value accumulation, plus an innovative combination of standard and optional benefits, including the LTC rider. Now, policy owners have a single product choice providing both affordable death benefit protection and a safeguard against uncertain long-term expenses.

"Our first and foremost goal is to deliver competitive, innovative life insurance products to our clients that help them address a variety of needs including estate planning, retirement savings and legacy creation," said Michele Van Leer, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Individual Insurance for Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, the issuing company. "Now within this same product they will also have the ability to address LTC concerns, as well as access emergency travel assistance and charitable giving. We believe our distributors and clients will appreciate the ability to meet multiple needs within one product."

The enhanced Sun Universal ProtectorPlus now includes:

• An optional Long Term Care Rider (LTC), on policies of $250,000 or greater, covering expenses for long term care with monthly benefits of up to $20,000, (payable for up to 50 months) depending upon face amount. The LTC rider provides for acceleration of the policy's death benefit. This benefit can be used to defray expenses for services such as in-home care, adult daycare, assisted living facility, or confinement in a nursing home. Benefits are also provided for caregiver training and supportive equipment needed;
• Improved product pricing for non-tobacco issue ages 35-65, with premium reductions of 3-8%;
• No limitations on the Accelerated Death Benefit, which provides access of up to 75% of the base policy face amount in the event of a terminal illness;
• A new Surrender Charge Modification Endorsement (SCME), which for an additional cost waives portions of the policy surrender charges in specific sales situations; and
• Extension of Sun Life's unique Charitable Giving Benefit Rider to policy amounts of $100,000 or more, rather than just on policies of $1,000,000 or more. The rider provides clients with another way to leave a charitable legacy, automatically and without any additional premium required. For all policies with a face amount of $100,000 or more, Sun Life Financial will provide the insured's designated favorite charity with a gift of 1% of the death benefits (over and above the policy's death benefits), up to a limit of $100,000.

In addition to these enhancements, ProtectorPlus still comes with the innovative Assist America product feature which gives insureds an everyday, practical living benefit. According to travel industry statistics, almost two-thirds of married couples travel regularly and extensively, often abroad. With a worldwide network of over 600,000 healthcare professionals, Assist America reimburses insureds for emergency medical care expenses they incur when traveling more than 100 miles from home anywhere in the world. This benefit includes the insured's choice of care providers, language interpreter services related to a medical situation and evacuation transportation home when out of the country.

SOURCE: Sun Life Financial