P A R T I C I P A T I N G
D I V I D E N D S
Over a
CENTURY
of proven performance
Life’s brighter under the sun
Sun Life Financial has a long history of selling participating (Par)
life insurance and issuing policy owner dividends.
In 1871, we issued our first Canadian participating policy. During that same year, the first national Canadian census was taken and
found that Canada had grown to nearly 3.7 million people;1 Queen Victoria was the head of state2; and British Columbia joined
Confederation3. Six years after Sun Life started selling participating life insurance, the first policy owner dividend was paid and
we’ve declared dividends for participating life insurance policy owners every year since.
Even during times of economic turmoil, Sun Life’s commitment to participating policy owners has remained strong.
1871
Sun Life starts selling
Par life insurance.
Founder’s Application, 1871
Head office staff, ca 1887
1877
First dividends paid to Par policy
owners - during the Long Depression
which began in the 1870s.
Dividends declared4
$4,603
Annual Report, 1893
1893
Over $16,000 in Par policy
owner dividends paid and
$343,413 for death claims,
matured endowments and other
payments to policyholders.
Dividends declared4
$16,438
1918
Par policy owner dividends were paid
and dividends increased every year
from 1914-1919 during World War I.
Sun Life newsletter ‘Sunshine Magazine’, 1918, No. 1
Dividends declared4
$1,455,118
1920
Dividends declared4
1921 Agents Convention
1930
$1,563,954
Sun Life paid out over $1.5 million in policy owner
dividends at a time when the average males’ annual
salary was $1,057.5 Monthly rent was $24.80,
one dozen eggs cost 70.9 cents, a quart of milk was
15.1 cents, and a loaf of bread was 9.3 cents.6
The 1930s Great Depression left millions of Canadians
unemployed, hungry and often homeless.7 Sun Life
continued to meet its commitment and paid an average
of over $16.5 million per year to Par policy owners.
Dividends declared4
$22,820,311
Illustration from Sun Life newsletter ‘Monthly Agency Review’, March 1936,
1944
Dividends declared4
$10,142,618
Even after 5 consecutive years of
World War II, Sun Life still paid over
$10 million to its Par policy owners.
Annual Report, 1944
How has Sun Life managed to declare
dividends every year since 1877, even during
times of economic uncertainty?
Strength of Sun Life Financial: Our history and longstanding commitment to
our clients has made us a leading player in the Canadian financial services market.
We’re a strong, well-capitalized enterprise, and have an established record of
financial strength and a tradition of honouring our financial commitments.
Long-term investment strategy: Sun Life manages the Sun Life Participating
Account to meet the long-term needs of Par policy owners, with the objective
of providing superior, stable returns. We invest in a variety of holdings including:
public bonds, private fixed income, commercial mortgages, real estate and
equities. Diversification and long-term investment expertise are the keys to our
success across and within the asset classes.
Large, well-established Par account: The Sun Life Participating Account is
over 140 years old, giving us balanced exposure between recently purchased assets
and those purchased over the course of the last 30 years. With invested assets
over $8.5 billion in the participating account, Sun Life has access to a range of
attractive investment opportunities that may not be available to a smaller
investor or account.
Use of smoothing techniques: We employ smoothing techniques that help
keep the dividend scale interest rate more constant over time. The 25-year
standard deviation of the Sun Life Participating Account dividend scale interest
rate has remained more stable and over half that of the Government of Canada
10-year bond interest rate.
Prudent management philosophy: Sun Life’s Board of Directors uses its
discretion to determine the distribution of dividends to Par policy owners and
sets the policy for managing dividends for Par policies. Our dividend policy
requires us to use a fair and equitable process for managing the total distribution
to policy owners. Sun Life’s board of directors has been ranked as one of the top
board of directors in Canada for five years in a row.11
1978
Dividends declared4
$115,578,044
Par policy owner dividends increased each year during the
1970s Oil Crisis. In 1978, inflation increased to nearly 9%,8
unemployment rose to 8.3%,9 and Sun Life still paid out over
$115 million in Par policy owner dividends.
2009
Dividends declared4
$701,000,000
2011
In the face of the global financial crisis dubbed “The Great Recession”,
Sun Life Financial remained among the world’s strongest insurance
companies and continued building its businesses. We paid policy
owner dividends of over $500 million every year since the stock
market crash in late 2008.
In 2011, Canadians named Sun Life the most trusted
brand in life insurance in Canada10 – an honour it’s
maintained for seven consecutive years since.
Dividends declared4
$590,000,000
2015
By the end of 2015, Sun Life had over
1.3 million Par policy owners, and issued
dividends for the year totaling $697 million.
During the year, Sun Life also paid $3.5
billion in death and disability benefits,
demonstrating that we meet our obligations
to Par policy owners.
Dividends declared4
$697,000,000
We’re dedicated to
helping you achieve
lifetime financial security.
At Sun Life, our mission is to help Canadians achieve lifetime
financial security. Talk to your advisor about how Sun Life’s
participating life insurance can help you achieve a brighter
financial future by providing life insurance protection, coupled
with the opportunity to receive policyholder dividends from
one of the strongest participating accounts in Canada.
Questions? We’re here to help.
Talk to your advisor about Sun Life Financial today!
For more information and resources visit www.sunlife.ca | Call 1 877 SUN-LIFE / 1 877 786 5433
Statistics Canada. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm
Parliament of Canada. http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/senate/monarchy/senmonarchy_00-e.htm
3
Historica Canada. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/british-columbia-and-confederation/
4
All dividends declared from Sun Life sources: 1877 - Sun Mutual Life Insurance Co., Annual Report; 1893, 1918, 1920, 1930, 1944, 1978, 2009, 2011 - Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada,
Annual Report; 2015 - Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, Information for voting policyholders booklet.
5
Statistics Canada. http://www65.statcan.gc.ca/acyb02/1937/acyb02_19370800009a-eng.htm
6
Statistics Canada. http://www65.statcan.gc.ca/acyb02/1937/acyb02_19370800009a-eng.htm
7
Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-depression/
8
inflation.eu Worldwide Inflation Data. http://www.inflation.eu/inflation-rates/canada/historic-inflation/cpi-inflation-canada-1978.aspx
9
National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11148.pdf page 5
10
In 2016, Canadians named Sun Life the most trusted brand in life insurance in Canada for seven years in a row, according to a consumer poll commissioned by Reader’s Digest for its 2016 Trusted
Brands™ awards program. ™ Trusted Brand is a registered trademark of Reader’s Digest Association Canada ULC.
11
Board shareholder confidence index, Rotman school of management. https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/FacultyAndResearch/ResearchCentres/ClarksonCentreforBoardEffectiveness/BoardShareholderConfidenceIndex.aspx
1
2
Life’s brighter under the sun
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies.
© Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2016.
810-4641-11-16