Sun Life partners with Pareto to enter group stop-loss captives market

WELLESLEY, Mass., Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life and Pareto Captive Services have partnered to offer a new stop-loss group captive solution, designed to reduce claims volatility for small and medium self-funded employers or fully-insured employers transitioning to self-funding.

Typically employers in a group captive are under 500 employees, and are like-minded, committed to wellness and cost containment programs in order to keep health care costs lower.

"Captives allow employers to pool together to share a portion of their self-funded risk, reducing claims volatility and making them a viable option for small and medium employers looking to self-fund their medical benefits," said Brad Nieland, vice president, Stop-Loss, Sun Life Financial U.S. "The partnership will draw on Pareto Captive's expertise in the client education, formation and ongoing management of group stop-loss captives, and the strength of Sun Life's stop-loss product and services." 

A key driver for self-funding is cost savings, while key barriers include the 'unknown' around claims volatility and the financial risk, both of which can be addressed through a group captive solution. Recent research conducted by Sun Life shows 4 out of 10 fully insured employers would consider switching to self-funding and, of those, 70 percent would consider using a captive solution when switching. Research also showed about 8 of 10 brokers expect at least one of their clients to utilize a captive in the future.

"Working with Sun Life as our stop-loss fronting carrier partner on this new program brings added value to both organizations' services," said Andrew Cavenagh, managing director of Pareto Captive. "Captives make self-funding more accessible for small and medium employers, so it is important to offer a strong stop-loss option that will give those employers the risk protection they need once they've chosen to self-fund."

The new stop-loss group captive solution, Legend Re, will be available for January 1, 2018, policy effective dates.

About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate Clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2017, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of C$944 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.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management, Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary and Stop-Loss insurance. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

About Pareto Captive
Pareto Captive Services is the nation's largest manager of employer owned benefit group captives.  A group captive makes self-insurance accessible and palatable for employers with 50 to 500 employees.  Once we have created the financial safety net, we help the employers reduce the cost of healthcare. By January 1, 2018, Pareto Captive programs are expected to have over 500 employers covering more than 125,000 individuals.  For more information, visit paretocaptive.com.

SOURCE Sun Life Financial