Alberta Blue Cross vs Sun Life: Compare Health Insurance Plans
Alberta Blue Cross and Sun Life sit at opposite ends of the individual health insurance market. Blue Cross concentrates twelve plans on two jurisdictions, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and makes sure even its no-medical-questions Blue Assured line carries dental, vision and five million dollars of travel coverage. Sun Life fields the largest shelf in our comparison set, ten plans across Personal Health Insurance and Health Coverage Choice, sold in twelve provinces and territories, with catastrophic drug protection reaching roughly 250,000 dollars per year on its top medically underwritten tier.
Lean toward Alberta Blue Cross if you want coverage without a health questionnaire at any age, something Sun Life simply does not offer, or if travel medical matters to you. Lean toward Sun Life if you are healthy enough to pass underwriting and want six-figure drug ceilings, or if you are leaving a group plan anywhere in Canada and want a guaranteed issue option with trip coverage to age 80.
At a glance
| Feature | Alberta Blue Cross | Sun Life |
|---|---|---|
| Provinces available | Alberta and Northwest Territories | 12 provinces and territories (not offered in Quebec) |
| Plan options | 12 plans across 3 plan families | 10 plans across 2 plan families |
| Underwriting options | Guaranteed acceptance, Medically underwritten, Guaranteed issue | Medically underwritten, Guaranteed issue |
| Plan tiers | Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum | Bronze, Gold, Platinum |
Benefit-by-benefit comparison
The summaries below come from the published plan documents for each carrier. Exact limits vary by tier, so treat these as the range you can expect across each lineup, then check the tier you would actually buy on our plans directory.
Drugs
- Alberta Blue CrossListed in 12 of 12 plans
- Direct-bill drug cards on every plan, 70 to 90 percent reimbursement, with maximums from 250 dollars on the entry guaranteed acceptance tier to 10,000 dollars on Blue Choice, which drops to 2,000 dollars per year once a member turns 65.
- Sun LifeListed in 10 of 10 plans
- Generic-focused with a pay-direct card and no deductible. Health Coverage Choice plans pay 80 percent up to 500, 1,300 or 2,600 dollars. Personal Health Insurance scales much higher: Standard pays 70 percent of the first 7,000 dollars then 100 percent of the next 93,000 dollars, and Enhanced pays 80 percent of the first 5,000 dollars then 100 percent of the next 245,000 dollars.
Routine Dental
- Alberta Blue CrossListed in 11 of 12 plans
- Cleanings, checkups, fillings and root canals at 70 to 90 percent after a three month wait, with year one maximums of 600 to 750 dollars growing in later years. Retiree tiers waive the wait and reach 5,000 dollars of combined dental.
- Sun LifeListed in 6 of 10 plans
- Preventive care, white fillings, scaling and exams at 60 to 80 percent. Health Coverage Choice allows 700 to 1,000 dollars per year, while Personal Health Insurance tiers carry a three month waiting period and 500 to 750 dollar preventive maximums, with recall visits every nine months.
Major Dental
- Alberta Blue Cross
- A full ladder on upper tiers: crowns, bridges and implants at 50 to 60 percent after two years, dentures and periodontics after one year, plus orthodontics at 50 percent with a 2,000 to 2,500 dollar lifetime cap.
- Sun Life
- Restorative work, including crowns, bridges, dentures, endodontics and oral surgery, is covered at 50 percent on the with-dental tiers after a one year wait. Personal Health Insurance Enhanced is the only plan in this whole comparison set with orthodontics at 60 percent, up to a 1,500 dollar lifetime maximum after two years.
Vision
- Alberta Blue CrossListed in 11 of 12 plans
- Allowances from 100 to 600 dollars per two year cycle, eye exams included, on eleven of twelve plans.
- Sun LifeListed in 9 of 10 plans
- All ten plans reimburse 100 percent up to 150 to 300 dollars every two years for prescription glasses, contacts, prescription sunglasses or laser surgery, including a 50 dollar exam allowance. Personal Health Insurance plans apply a one year waiting period to vision.
Travel
- Alberta Blue CrossListed in 12 of 12 plans
- Built into all plans: 100 percent reimbursement, five million dollar lifetime maximum, trips of 10 to 30 days until age 65 on standard lines and 30 to 120 days until age 85 on Retiree plans.
- Sun LifeListed in 7 of 10 plans
- Included on mid and upper tiers only: 100 percent reimbursement with a one million dollar lifetime maximum, covering the first 60 days of a trip and available until age 80. Entry plans, Health Coverage Choice Plan A and Personal Health Insurance Basic, list no travel benefit.
Paramedical
- Alberta Blue CrossListed in 11 of 12 plans
- Per visit dollar caps by practitioner type, for example chiropractic at 35 to 75 dollars and massage or physiotherapy at 50 dollars, under combined yearly maximums of 350 to 650 dollars.
- Sun LifeListed in 10 of 10 plans
- A broad practitioner list on every plan: chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopaths, acupuncturists, osteopaths, physiotherapists and podiatrists, with annual x-ray examinations included for chiropractic, osteopathy and podiatry.
Underwriting: how you qualify
The structural gap here is guaranteed acceptance. Alberta Blue Cross offers it through four Blue Assured tiers that anyone can buy at any age with zero medical questions. Sun Life has no guaranteed acceptance product in this lineup at all: its ten plans split between five medically underwritten Personal Health Insurance tiers and five guaranteed issue Health Coverage Choice plans that require you to apply within 60 days of leaving a group plan. That makes Sun Life a non-starter for someone with significant pre-existing conditions who is not coming off employer benefits, whereas Blue Assured will take that applicant in Alberta or the NWT. Blue Cross also runs medically underwritten Blue Choice plans to age 64 and a 50-plus Retiree guaranteed issue series with the same 60 day window Sun Life uses.
New to these terms? See our plain-language guides to underwriting, pre-existing conditions, waiting periods and how your premium is set.
See real prices for your situation
Premiums for both carriers depend on your age, province and who is on the policy, so the fastest way to compare costs is a personalized quote. You can also estimate your out-of-pocket dental costs with our dental services calculator.
Frequently asked questions
I have pre-existing conditions and no group plan to convert. Which carrier will accept me?
Only Alberta Blue Cross, and only if you live in Alberta or the Northwest Territories. Its Blue Assured plans are guaranteed acceptance with no medical questions at any age. Sun Life sells no guaranteed acceptance plan: you either pass medical underwriting for Personal Health Insurance or use the 60 day guaranteed issue window after leaving group benefits.
Whose drug coverage goes higher for serious conditions?
Sun Life. Personal Health Insurance Enhanced pays 80 percent of your first 5,000 dollars in eligible drug costs and then 100 percent of the next 245,000 dollars each year, and the Standard tier covers up to roughly 100,000 dollars. Alberta Blue Cross tops out at a 10,000 dollar annual maximum on Blue Choice, which also reduces to 2,000 dollars after age 65.
How do the travel benefits differ for older travellers?
Alberta Blue Cross Retiree plans carry a five million dollar lifetime maximum, cover trips up to 120 days on the Premium tier and stay in force until age 85. Sun Life includes travel only on its mid and upper plans, with a one million dollar lifetime maximum, 60 day trips and an age 80 cutoff. Blue Cross is stronger on every travel dimension except national availability.
Which carrier covers braces for my kids?
Both can, on their top tiers. Sun Life Personal Health Insurance Enhanced includes orthodontics at 60 percent reimbursement with a 1,500 dollar lifetime maximum after a two year waiting period. Alberta Blue Cross covers orthodontics at 50 percent on Blue Assured and Blue Choice Enhanced+ and Premium tiers, with higher lifetime maximums of 2,000 to 2,500 dollars, also after two years.
Are there waiting periods I should plan around?
Yes, on both sides. Alberta Blue Cross applies a three month wait to drugs and routine dental on Blue Assured, one year to dentures and periodontics, and two years to major dental and orthodontics. Sun Life Personal Health Insurance imposes three months on preventive dental, one year on restorative dental and vision, and two years on orthodontics. Sun Life Health Coverage Choice and Blue Cross Retiree plans largely skip waiting periods because they are group conversions.