Ontario Superior Court approves $213.5M settlement against Sun Life

Ontario court approves $213.5M Sun Life settlement
Ontario court approves $213.5M Sun Life settlement
Sun Life Financial Inc. logo is shown at the company's annual general meeting in Toronto on Wednesday, May 6, 2015.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
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The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved a $213.5-million class-action settlement against Sun Life. 

A news release from law firm Kim Spencer McPhee Barristers P.C. says the action began in 2010 regarding alleged improper administration of three universal life insurance policies, including Universal Plus, Flexiplus and OptiMet. 

The policies were sold by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. agents in Canada between 1987 and 1998.

The release says Sun Life has denied any wrongdoing. 

A spokesperson for Sun Life pointed to a news release from April that announced a settlement in principle had been reached.

The company said at the time that it inherited the policies through historical Canadian acquisitions and that the matter doesn't involve any policies or products sold by Sun Life. 

It said that if a settlement was approved by the court, it would seek full recourse from MetLife, which provided an indemnity relating to the policies in question.

The law firm says the settlement is the largest reported settlement in any life insurance policy dispute in Canadian history, concerning 70,000 eligible current and former Flexiplus and Universal Plus policyholders in Canada. 

Eldon Fehr, representative plaintiff, says the settlement will provide significant benefits to current and former Sun Life policyholders. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2026.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SLF)

Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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