Sun Life Financial has agreed to purchase the employee benefits business of the American insurer Assurant for $975 million USD, making Sun Life the sixth largest group benefits provider in the United States.

In a press release announcing the transaction, Sun Life noted that the acquisition will provide its American operations with a dental business that has the second largest proprietary provider network in the country, and it will also add a successful group life and disability business. In total, the purchase will increase the size of Sun Life's US in-force group business by more than 50%, bringing it to approximately $4 billion USD.

"The acquisition of the Assurant Employee Benefits business is directly on strategy, accelerating the growth of our U.S. Group Benefits business and expanding the scope of our benefits business in North America," says Sun Life president and CEO Dean Connor. "The transaction is another example of how we are deploying capital effectively across all four pillars of growth to create long-term value for shareholders of Sun Life Financial."