Insurance 101

You can think of life insurance as a financial safety net for your loved ones in case something unexpected happens to you.

You pay an insurance company like Sun Life regular premiums in exchange for a guaranteed lump sum amount for your beneficiaries when you pass away. This amount can go a long way in covering their living expenses and other needs. 

When certain life insurance plans mature, such as endowment, with the insured still living, the policyholder will receive the maturity benefit along with any other benefits that the policy comes with

Pro tip: Consider getting a life insurance plan that offers living benefits, such as a savings component, critical illness protection, or an investment component so you can get more out of the premiums you pay.  

Sun Life offers 4 kinds of life insurance policies:

Term

This type of life insurance provides protection for a fixed period and pays out a percentage of the Face Amount if the insured passes away during this time. It’s usually renewable after the initial term of coverage and is one of the most affordable forms of life insurance.

Whole Life

Also known as permanent life insurance, whole life insurance pays a percentage of the Face Amount in case of death of the insured during the span of their life or commonly up to age 100. It may come with a savings component in the form of cash value, non-guaranteed dividends, and/or endowment/cash benefits, or cash payouts (if any).

Endowment

Just like whole life insurance, endowment life insurance pays a percentage of the Face Amount in case the insured passes away during the coverage period. It also comes with a savings component as living benefit/s. The main differences are:

- It has a shorter coverage period

- Its maturity benefit may be realized earlier if the insured survives the end of the shorter coverage period

Variable unit-linked

More commonly known as VUL insurance plan, variable unit-linked life insurance plans are an investment-linked life insurance policy that offer you both protection and the opportunity to grow your savings over time. With it, you are covered with a minimum guaranteed amount of life insurance benefit plus a variable, non-guaranteed amount based on the performance of the investment fund (or funds) you choose.

The fund/s you choose to invest in is/are linked to your VUL insurance plan, which can be composed of bonds, stocks, or a combination of both, depending on your risk appetite, investment time horizon, and financial goals.

Need help choosing the right type of life insurance for your needs and goals? Talk to a Sun Life Advisor today.

Filing a death claim with Sun Life is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Notify us of your claim
2. Prepare the requirements
3. Submit the requirements.

For more information, please visit the How to file a claim page. 

Pro tip: Make sure you submit all the requirements to speed up the processing of your claim.

Some people are not comfortable purchasing life insurance because they feel like they’ll be paying for something they will not be able to personally benefit from (unless they are still alive when their policy matures).

This is where living benefits come in. Some of our insurance products come with a savings component such as:

• Cash values that can be loaned from the policy with interest
• Non-guaranteed dividends
• Endowment/cash benefits or payouts you can enjoy while you’re still alive

Some also offer optional benefits called riders or supplementary benefits that can enhance your protection benefits. Here are a few examples of riders commonly attached to insurance policies:

• Living benefit rider: pays out a portion of the face amount in advance less advances called policy loans, if any, in case you are diagnosed with a terminal illness (with a life expectancy of 12 months or less)
• Critical illness benefit rider: pays a lump sum in case you are diagnosed with any of the policy’s covered critical illnesses

You can explore the different riders we offer here.

In addition to riders, you may also use your life insurance as collateral if you need to take out a loan with a bank or lending institution.

Please talk to a Sun Life Advisor for more information.

Sun Life categorizes life insurance or death claims as either speedy or non-speedy. We process speedy claims within 1-3 working days after receiving the complete requirements from a claimant. Non-speedy claims, on the other hand, typically take longer to ensure a fair settlement.

Please get in touch with us through Sun Link Client Care at (+632) 8849-9888 or email us via sunlink@sunlife.com for more information.

You can view the full list of requirements along with the instructions for filing a claim on the How to file a claim page.

The recipient of the benefits of your life insurance policy would depend on the type of policy you have and the benefits it comes with. In most cases, however, the death benefit goes to your primary death beneficiaries while the living benefits go to the policy owner.

For more information on how your specific policy works, please talk to your Sun Life Advisor.

Depending on the type of life insurance you have, if you’re still living when it matures, you may maturity proceeds based on the insurance product you purchased.

Please note that not all life insurance policies do this when they mature. This is why if this is important to you, you need to choose a life insurance product that offers the option.

For more information, please talk to your Sun Life Advisor.

Keeping your life insurance active ensures you and your family remain protected. When it lapses due to missed payments, unpaid policy loan, excess withdrawals, or depletion of your Fund Value due to fund performance (if applicable), your protection ends. This means if anything happens, you and/or your beneficiaries will not receive anything.

The good news is even if you miss payments, Sun Life has a grace period and reinstatement policy in place to give you time to get your policy back on track.

For more information on keeping your policy sustainable or reinstating a lapsed policy, please talk to your Sun Life Advisor.