Canadian insurer looking overseas for growth – says US has the worst red tape

CEO remains hopeful about the company’s business in North America and possible expansion elsewhere

Canadian insurer looking overseas for growth – says US has the worst red tape

Insurance News

By Lyle Adriano

Sun Life Financial CEO Dean Connor has revealed that he is hopeful about the company’s businesses in the US and in Asia.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Connor exposed that Sun Life has to jump through a lot of hoops to operate in the US, more so than any other country.

“We operate in 24 countries and the US has some of biggest red tape we see worldwide,” he said Thursday after Sun Life’s Investor Day activity. “We pay a lot of corporate income tax in the US.”

Connor, however, is looking forward to continuing business in the country, as US President Donald Trump pushes for reduced regulations. He also noted that any potential changes to the ACA (Obamacare) are unlikely to affect Sun Life, particularly when the company is the second-largest provider in America of stop-loss insurance.

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The executive also does not think that changes to US health regulation would deter healthcare expenditures.

“Lately, the growth in the health-care costs has been at an accelerated level, particularly because of drugs,” he elaborated.

Notably, Connor said that he sees Asia as “Sun Life’s biggest growth opportunity.” He added that the insurer should be able to expand its earnings in the “mid-teens” in the region after it had tripled its profit in the last five years, from $100m to $300m.


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