Sun Life declared "Most Trusted Life Insurance Company"

Recognized for product, service, and brand excellence

WATERLOO, ON, April 15 /CNW/ - Canadians have voted Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada as the "Most Trusted Life Insurance Company" in the country based on a Harris/Decima poll commissioned by Reader's Digest for its 2010 Trusted Brand awards program.

The Harris/Decima poll provided respondents with a list of product categories, one of which was Life Insurance, and asked them to indicate, unprompted, which brand they trusted most. The poll was conducted October 2 through 15, 2009.

"At Sun Life Financial, our mission is to help provide lifetime financial security to our clients, backed by our financial strength and the integrity of our leaders, our employees, and our Sun Life Financial advisors," said Kevin Dougherty, President, Sun Life Financial Canada. "Being the recipient of the 'Most Trusted Life Insurance Company' in Canada award is great recognition of our company values of integrity, excellence, and delivering value to our clients everyday."

Product quality, customer service and brand experience scored high among poll respondents who chose Sun Life as their most trusted brand of life insurance.

    
    -  Product quality: 97% of respondents who selected Sun Life as a trusted
       brand believe that offering a high quality product is important to the
       reputation of a brand; 94% indicated that offering products/services
       that are good value for the money is important.

    -  Customer service: 94% said that offering good customer service and
       product and service backing (i.e. standing behind the product) is
       important.

    -  Brand experience: having a positive personal experience with the brand
       was important to 93%, while 89% felt that the trustworthiness of the
       brand impacted brand reputation.
    

In addition to life insurance, Sun Life offers quality and value in a wide variety of areas, including health insurance, individual wealth management, financial planning, group retirement planning, pensions, and group benefits. Customer service, product backing, reputation, and trustworthiness are qualities that Sun Life emphasizes throughout its operations.

"The Reader's Digest Trusted Brand awards program is an excellent program for identifying brands in various industry categories, as well as professions and personalities that have earned the trust of the public through their commitment to the client experience," said Larry Thomas, VP, Publisher, Reader's Digest Association, Canada. "The fact that Sun Life was chosen for this award speaks volumes about its business and reflects well on Sun Life as an international organization."

The Reader's Digest Trusted Brand awards program is used to determine consumer attitudes and opinions related to 28 specific brand categories and to recognize the "Most Trusted" brand in each of those categories. This initiative has expanded quickly since it was first launched in Asia in 2000, and is currently active in 28 countries across the world.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. and a member of the Sun Life Financial Group of Companies.

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 December 31, 2009, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $433 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

For further information: Krista Wilson, Media & Public Relations, Sun Life Financial Canada, [phone] ext. 4896, [email protected]