Understanding Assuris Protection

An industry-funded safety net for your guarantees.

What is Assuris?

When you invest in a segregated fund in Canada, you are not only protected by the guarantees built into the contract itself but also by a crucial, industry-funded safety net: Assuris.

Assuris is the not-for-profit organization that protects Canadian policyholders if their life and health insurance company fails. Every life insurance company authorized to sell insurance in Canada is required by federal, provincial, and territorial regulators to be a member of Assuris.

How Does Assuris Protection Work?

In the very unlikely event that your life insurance company were to fail, Assuris guarantees that you will retain at least 85% of the insurance benefits you were promised. For segregated funds, this protection applies to the guaranteed amounts.

Specifically, Assuris guarantees that you will retain up to $60,000 or 85% of the promised guaranteed amounts, whichever is higher. It is important to note that the Assuris protection applies to the guaranteed amounts, not the fluctuating market value of the fund.

Assuris vs. CDIC: A Key Distinction

Feature	Assuris (Insurance)	CDIC (Banks & Trust Companies)
Coverage Limit	Up to $60,000 or 85% of promised benefits, whichever is higher.	Up to a maximum of $100,000 per insured category.
Product Scope	Life insurance policies, including segregated funds, annuities, and health insurance.	Savings accounts, chequing accounts, GICs, and other deposits.
Key Benefit	The "85% of benefits" clause provides higher protection for larger policies.	Provides 100% coverage up to the $100,000 limit.

For high-net-worth individuals with large segregated fund policies, the Assuris model of protecting 85% of the total benefit can provide a significantly higher level of protection than the hard cap offered by CDIC for bank deposits.

The SG Wealth Advantage

While the failure of a Canadian life insurance company is an extremely rare event, understanding the layers of protection in place is a cornerstone of prudent financial planning. At SG Wealth, we partner exclusively with Canada's largest, most financially stable, and most reputable life insurance companies, further minimizing any risk to our clients.

We ensure our clients understand not only the features of their investments but also the regulatory and industry backstops like Assuris that protect their capital. Learn more about our investment solutions and how we integrate these protections into comprehensive financial plans.