Sun Life U.S. expands Family Leave Insurance to Michigan and West Virginia

WELLESLEY, Mass., July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life U.S. has expanded the availability of its Family Leave Insurance (FLI) offering to now include Michigan and West Virginia. FLI broadens workers' access to paid leave, givinga employers the option to provide a valuable benefit to their employees, even if they work in other states. While short-term disability (STD) insurance provides income replacement during a medical leave, FLI provides coverage for comparable income replacement for family or bonding leave, giving employees more comprehensive leave benefits.

Sun Life has long been an advocate for paid leave, working with multiple state legislatures over the last several years to include a private plan option alongside mandated programs. More recently, Sun Life has championed the federal paid leave tax credit for employers, which was made permanent in recent tax legislation. Sun Life FLI aligns with the current tax credit and will align with upcoming changes in the new legislation.

"We believe no one should have to choose between their job and caring for a loved one. While the Family and Medical Leave Act provides unpaid leave up to 12 weeks, many employees have the difficult decision of whether they can afford to take time off to tend to their families," said Sheila Sokolski, vice president, Product Strategy and Portfolio Management, Group Benefits, Sun Life U.S. "With FLI, employers can choose to offer paid family leave benefits to all employees equally, and they get an insurance product built using Sun Life's decades of disability leave and absence management expertise."

Sun Life FLI fills a substantial gap for employers in states without government programs, and is available to all eligible employees regardless of the state they work in. FLI is offered as fully insured coverage, helping small and mid-size employers offer the benefit without the risk of self-funding. Sun Life also administers private paid family and medical leave (PFML) in many states that have mandated programs.

FLI can contribute to economic growth by attracting more workers to states that allow insurers to offer the product. It also allows employers to recruit more competitively, particularly those that have offices in other states or hire remotely. Sun Life offers FLI in 14 other states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming, and will begin quoting in Massachusetts next month.

With Sun Life FLI, employees have the benefit of Sun Life's online claims submission, and employers can track employees' leave details, supporting overall health and productivity management. A recording of Sun Life's recent webinar on FLI can be found here.

Sun Life FLI will be available for quoting on August 1 in Michigan, West Virginia and Massachusetts. Additional states are expected to approve filing throughout 2025. For more information visit www.sunlife.com/family.

About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life 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 March 31, 2025, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1.55 trillion. 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.

Sun Life U.S. is one of the largest providers of employee and government benefits, helping approximately 50 million Americans access the care and coverage they need. Through employers, industry partners and government programs, Sun Life U.S. offers a portfolio of benefits and services, including dental, vision, disability, absence management, life, supplemental health, medical stop-loss insurance, and healthcare navigation. Sun Life employs more than 8,300 people in the U.S., including associates in our partner dental practices and affiliated companies in asset management. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information visit our website and newsroom.

Media contacts

Devon Fernald
Sun Life U.S.
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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.