Many people asked me why I got Sun Life VUL, so I decided to write it up here instead because I want to share the five reasons I got Sun Life VUL insurance even though I have Sun Life Mutual Funds and other stocks investments.
I did not think of getting insurance like Sun Life MaxiLink Prime before starting with my mutual fund investments and stocks investments because I thought VUL would just take much of the money for my annual premiums.
Besides, I’m still a single lady with no children yet, so I don’t have many beneficiaries. Likewise, I received so many messages about how they regretted getting VUL insurance and how much they were earning money from it.
But things changed when I traveled to Japan and Singapore. Surprisingly, many people there have four or more insurances.
Then I was baffled; why would they need a lot of insurance? Would I be over-insured if I get that much?
I hesitated to get a VUL until I finally bought my first SUV, and the insurance was 28,500 per year.
OMG, I told myself it was close to buying the latest laptop or phone every year.
And I’m not one who always keeps on buying the newest phone or those latest gadgets out there.
I mean, I respect those people who do, and that’s what they want. I just prefer moments and memories to material things.
Just like other car owners, I am required to have Auto Insurance.
If I would be paying that much for my car, why couldn’t I pay more for myself? I am more important than my car, so I should be securing more of ME than anything else in the world.
5 Reasons Why I Got Sun Life VUL Insurance:
1. Insurance is Cheaper While You’re Young
The number one reason why I got Sun Life insurance is that premiums are cheaper when you’re younger. The earlier you get life insurance, the more money you will save and grow.
Why do I say this? Because annual insurance premiums for people in their 20s are much cheaper than people’s insurance in their 30s or 40s and so on.
You will make more money if you start getting a Variable Life Insurance earlier because TIME is money when investing in well-established companies.
The blue-chip companies allocated to your fund could compound more money when you place your funds earlier. Your investment in your 20s could be worth millions in your 40s.
2. Helpful Insurance coverage
As I said, if my car has insurance coverage, I should have one for myself too. In case of an emergency, money comes in handy.
The insurance coverage I got from Sun Life MaxiLink Prime offers life insurance coverage (death benefit) double the face amount with supplementary benefits such as total disability, accidental death, and critical illness.
3. Diversified Portfolio
VUL has an investment portfolio linked to the insurance. It comprises life insurance coverage plus some investments – to equities in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index, some excellent blue-chip companies, and balanced funds.
With Sun Life, my fund is allocated this way: 30% invested in Stock Index Funds, 30% invested in Captain Funds (designed mainly to generate long term capital appreciation through investment in equity and equity-linked securities diversified across sectors), and 40% Balanced Fund (mix government, domestic corporate debt securities and locally-listed equities).
4. 10 Year Manageable Premium Placement
Sun Life MaxiLink Prime allows me to pay for only ten years. Then I could use the fund and its earnings in case I don’t want to pay the annual premiums anymore.
After ten years, premiums would not cost as much as required in the first ten years.
5. Win Over Estate Taxes
When a person leaves this lifetime, the law will freeze all their assets until their estate has been settled. That includes debts and estate taxes. Your insurance and investment will definitely help you and your beneficiaries if you have a Variable Life Insurance policy.
Other Life Insurance Guides:
hello, question, i have sunlife vul insurance that has peso balance fund & peso bond fund, and payable in 5 years-quarterly. and i will be finished paying it next year before 3rd quarter. i observed that instead of gaining money in 4 years my vul is 15% less of my total payment. is this normal? or should i pull it out? hope you can advice me. thank you.
Hi All – I am a Sun Life Advisor and Unit Manager looking for people to help on managing their finances and preparing for their future. In case you know someone looking for an insurance please let me know. Regards to all!
Fb – Angely Venoza
Good evening Ms Fhel. Can I share your link to my FB page? I am proud that you got yourself a Sunlife VUL insurance plan. 🙂
Sure 🙂 Just post the URL and it will appear
Hi can i post it on my fb page?im a financial advisor from sunlife.
Just the link please 🙂
hi mam asking if may i repost your article in my fb account? thank you!:)
Hi, you can only post the link: https://philpad.com/5-reasons-why-i-got-sun-life-vul-insurance/ on your FB. We don’t allow words repost sorry
Hi Ms Fehl,
I’m a Sun Life financial advisor and I was gladden by your blog. Can I post it in my FB page?
Hoping you’ll agree 🙂
Ferlyssa
Hi, yes you can post the link (URL) but you cannot copy and paste the words from here to FB 🙂
Hi Ms. Fehl,
Which one is better, Sunlife Maxilink Prime (10yrs) or Security Bank UITF (1yr or dependS) I am conservative. Wants to invest my 250,000 asap. Please help.
Hi Kat,
I’m a Sun Life advisor, I hope its ok with you that join and answer you. Sun Life has a single-pay VUL, MaxiLink One and Sun FlexiLink One. Minimum of 250k and 200k, respectively. You can also choose a fund that is fit with your risk appetite.
I cannot answer for UITF though.
Thanks.
Ferlyssa
Hello Kat,
I think I can give you a little help with that. Both are good investment vehicles. A little background of myself, I am a policy holder also of two (2) VUL policies since 2013, and owner of two (2) UITF Certificates of Participation.
Both VUL and UITFs are both open-ended funds. While for mutual fund, mostly they are closed-ended fund. The following are distinct features of an open-ended fund:
1. Units are offered to the investors on a continuous basis;
2. Funds are available throughout the year for subscription and/or repurchase
3. There is no fixed maturity
As to your question which is better the one particular VUL company or the UITF managed by one particular bank, i believe you are asking which between the 2 is better investment facility for fixed/secured income funds (“conservative funds”). These funds are composed of issued government bonds, corporate bonds, fixed treasury notes/bills, etc. with PROJECTED earning rates of 3%-5%.
The only way to determine this is to actually look at the fund fact sheets of the VUL company for fixed income, and also that of the Bank. Unfortunately, i could not determine as both fubd fact sheets do not indicate the Annualized Return. Both find fact sheets show only the Absolute Return which may mislead novice investors, especially when the funds under comparison have different inception dates, fund managers, investment strategies. If you like to see how a fund performs every year, the indicator that you should see is the Annualized ROI which is the average yearly return.
Hence, we need to check via 3rd party reviews. 9 found this website that released a report on the fund performance in different investment vehicles (VUL, mutual fund, UITF). You will see that Manulife has the superior quotient (5-year Annualized Return over Assets Under Management) for Equity Funds and Secure (Bond Funds).
Please do not confuse Assets Under Management with Market Capitalization. Market Capitalization is the market value of a company found by multiplying company’s outstanding shares and current market price. Investment community looks at this figure to gauge/determine a company’s size and financial performance. Assets under Management is the market value of all investments managed by the financial service company.
Hence, if a small fund (small assets under management) generates higher Annualized ROI vs larger fund, credit goes to the fund manager of smaller fund for exhibiting superior security selection and market timing skills. After all, performance of our investments rely heavily on how good are our fund managers.
You can check the Top 100 philippine companies with highest market capitalization
I would be glad to share with you a comparison matrix of different VUL products (investment-oriented, protection-oriented) which I personally prepared at the time I was considering which Insurance/Wealth Management Company to join.
Hi Sir Keil can i get a copy of the comparison matrix you have created i am also interested to get a VUL product and would like to know what company manages the investment properly and close to their projected profit rate
Hi!
I am planning to have my VUL sa Sunlife. But I just want to know the mode of payment and if ever I want to withdraw a certain amount of money, kailan pwede and saan pwede ma-withdraw yung pera. I heard kasi na thru the financial advisor lang pwede magbayad and magwithdraw. medyo hassle kasi siya on both sides. I hope someone can answer. Thanks!
Hello there Poll,
Excellent choice to avail for your insurance, not only is it affordable but you also get to have a bigger insurance coverage plus an immediate fund value :D.
-The (MOP) mode of payment is either Annual, Semi-annual or Quarterly but you can start with quarterly then pay daily, bi-monthly, or monthly. (Yes, it’s flexible)
-Withdrawals. Upon approval of your plan, you would already have a living benefit which is the fund value. The fund value is redeemable anytime by filling out the withdrawal form via your advisor, Sunlife Customer Service Representative or via online (sunlink online or the sunlife mobile app). *NOTE: this is an insurance plan, and the fund accumulated for this is for a longterm goal which in turn affects your payment years and your loyalty bonuses. Try thinking of this as a 2ndary emergency fund.
-Payment Options. Via Banks, remittance centers, selected 7/11 branches (in makati), G-cash, coins.ph, SM payment center, your advisor and via sunlife customer representatives. *Note: If your advisor collects premiums from you, please make sure that s/he issues a provisional receipt from sunlife.
Hello po, Gusto ko lang po itanong kung paano magbayad ng premium ko sa Sun Life thru GCASH or via BDO over the counter? Kasi po malayo po work ko and nakakahiya sa adviser ko na papuntahin pa sya. Thanks in advance.
Hi, you can pay over the ocunter at BDO by using the Bills payment form indicate in the company, SLOCPI, then your acct no is your policy number and then your full name. That’s it, you can also enroll online thru ur bdo or bpi acct.
Paano proseso dating may hulog n sss ko gusto po ngaun ituloy mag vulantary po ako ngaun ano po gagawin ko thanks
Hello Fehl,
With Sunlife Maxilink Prime, how much is your initial investment and monthly payment for 10 years? I will be meeting a SunLife Insurance Advisor this Monday, I’m glad you decided to share insights about SunLife VUL.
Thanks.
Dixie
Hi Ms. Fehl,
When I started reading your blog i really appreciate it, it is really informative, thank you so much for sharing your gift wisdom and knowledge that God is given to you.
Above blog your insurance is Sun Life MaxiLink Prime offers payable for 10 years? after 10 years meaning you will not pay anymore the premiums? this is fixed term insurance? kasi yung insurance ko po sabi 10-6percent yung kikitain buwan buwan but nag send yung Manulife nang letter na 3%b nalang daw sabi payable for 10years, nakuha ko po yun 2005, so dapat hindi na kami magbabayad pero sabi nag agent ko hindi pa pwede magstop magbayad dahil yng dividends is not enough na pambabayad sa yearly na premiums…parang disappointed po dahil daw traditional po yung nakuha ko daw dati, ngayon may mga fixed term na po daw…
Totoo po ba Ms. Fehl, na yung VUL pwede isama lahat like yung pag Health, Investment, Insurance.??
Hi Chona,
I saw your comment while I was browsing Ms. Fehl’s post. Regarding your question, I hope it’s ok if I answer it for you.
For a VUL, yes it is a form of cash-value life insurance which can offer both death benefit and investment feature. You can also get different riders like critical illness, total disability, etc…. Bear in mind po that these riders will increase your premium payments.
I hope you are not planning to get another VUL for yourself . Why? because from what you have written above. You have already experienced first hand that the returns are very low compared to investing it yourself in a good growth stock mutual fund. Even after investing it for 10 years, you still need to continue just to cope with your yearly premium payments. That is a sign that your investments are not performing well.
You would be better off getting a Term Life insurance for yourself and your spouse if your married, and Investing the rest to a separate mutual fund for the next 10-20 years.