Segregated funds: a wide array of choices on the market

Most life and health insurers in the Canadian market offer segregated funds. Consumers have a wide selection to choose from.

• Seg funds are available for as little as $100 with iA Financial Group, $250 with The Co-operators or $400 with SSQ Insurance. The initial deposit required for other products is usually $500 or $1,000.

• Some insurers offer programs for high net value clients that require a much larger minimum investment. Examples include BMO Insurance (Prestige Class: $250K), Canada Life (Preferred Series: $100K), iA Financial Group (Prestige Series: $300K), Manulife (Elite Pricing: $1M) and Sun Life (Private Client Pricing: $250K).
• Funds with an 100/100 maturity guarantee generally provide a guarantee of 100 per cent on deposits made 15 years or more prior to the maturity of the policy. For amounts deposited less than 15 years before the maturity date, the applicable guarantee is 75 per cent. However, The Co-operators offers a maturity guarantee of 100 per cent on amounts invested for five years or more, while Desjardins Insurance offers a 100 per cent guarantee only on deposits made in the contract’s first year.
• The death benefit guarantee for the 75/100 and 100/100 is generally 100 per cent when deposits are made before the policyholder reaches age 80. Otherwise, the guarantee is reduced to 75 per cent. As the table below shows, there are several exceptions. For Assumption Life, the guarantee at death is 100 per cent for deposits made before age 77. Deposits made thereafter receive a lesser guarantee, which decreases each year to reach 80 per cent for deposits made at age 80 and over. For Canada Life, the death benefit guarantee on an amount paid after age 80 can reach 100 per cent, as of the sixth year after the amount is invested.