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PRESS RELEASE
February 13, 2008 04:26 PM Eastern Time
Sun Life Financial Launches Industry’s First Retro Disability Benefits Innovative Feature Provides Extra Financial Benefits for Serious LTD Claims
WELLESLEY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE:SLF, TSX:SLF) today introduced the group insurance industry’s first Retro Disability BenefitsSM, an innovative product feature that provides extra financial benefits for seriously ill or injured employees. Only the Sun Life Financial companies offer this benefit, which is now included in all new Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada group long term disability contracts1.
Typically, LTD plans have an elimination period when benefits are not paid. Now, with Retro Disability Benefits, if an employee was continuously hospitalized for 14 days or more at the onset of Total Disability, and is approved for LTD benefits, Sun Life will retroactively pay that claimant his or her LTD benefits from the first day the claimant was deemed totally disabled.
The Retro Disability Benefit is paid to the claimant as a lump sum, and there are no offsets for earnings, sick pay or other insurance benefits. More than 250,000 U.S. workers are hospitalized for 14 days or more every year.2 Although the incidence of prolonged hospitalizations is relatively rare for many employees, costs related to serious disabilities can be devastating, making Retro Disability Benefits extremely valuable to the claimant.
“As a national leader in the Medical Stop-Loss market, our data confirms that more than 90% of Stop-Loss claims we pay are a result of a hospital stay of 14 days or more,” says Scott Beliveau, VP, Multi-Line Products. “Employees in this situation need extra financial support, especially in today’s environment of high health care costs. We are proud to provide this added financial boost to employees on long-term disability who are going through difficult times.”
To make things easy for employers and employees, Retro Disability Benefits is automatically processed for all eligible claimants. There is no extra paperwork for the employer or employee to complete.
1 The Retro Disability Benefit is currently available in 43 states. 2 Source: 2006 Milliman health cost guidelines. US Bureau of Labor Statistics
About Sun Life Financial Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2007, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of US $430.6 billion.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol SLF.
Visit Sun Life Financial’s website at http://www.sunlife-usa.com/group/.
SLPC # 18455 2/08
Exp. 2/09
Contacts Sun Life Financial David Jacobson, 781-446-1955
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