Top Insurance Companies in Canada Ranked By Total Assets

The Following are top 10  best insurance companies in Canada ranked by total assets. Manulife Financial is the largest insurance company in Canada and one of the largest life insurers in the world.

1. MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
   
   
   
   is a Canadian insurance company and financial services provider, with a head office in Toronto, Canada. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulife Financial" and in the United States primarily through its John Hancock division. It is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world by market capitalization, and has approximately 26,000 employees.
   Manulife Bank of Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation.
   Net income $1,736 million CAD (2012)
   Website : http://www.manulife.ca or http://www.manulife.com
   
2. GREAT-WEST LIFECO
   
   
   
   is an insurance centered financial holding company (corporation) that operates in North America (USA and Canada), Europe and Asia through 5 wholly owned, regionally focussed subsidiaries. Many of the companies it has indirect control over are part of its largest subsidiary The Great-West Life Assurance Company; the others (Great West Life & Annuities Financial Inc and Putnam Investments, LLC) are managed by US based subsidiary Great-West Lifeco US Inc. Great-West Lifeco is indirectly controlled by Montreal billionaire Paul Desmarais through his stake in the Power Corporation of Canada (owned by the family since 1968) which owns 72% (down slightly from 74.6% in 2005) of Great-West Lifeco. In the first half of 2011 premium income made up 63.99% of total revenue up from 56.07% hoh. The hyphen in the company's name was originally a typesetter's error.
   Net income : C$989 mil Ytd June'11 =6.9%
   Total assets : C$232.159 bil June 30, 2011
   Website : http://www.greatwestlifeco.com
   
3. SUN LIFE FINANCIAL INC.
   
   
   is an international financial services company known primarily as a life insurance company, but also has a strong presence in investment management with over $494 billion in assets under management. Based in Toronto, Canada, Sun Life and its partners provide insurance, retirement and investment solutions for individuals and businesses around the world including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. Sun Life ranks number 236 on the Forbes Global 2000 list for 2010 as well as on the Fortune 500 list.
   Net income : $727 million (as at March 31, 2011) CAD
   Website : http://www.sunlife.com/
   
4. CANADA LIFE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
   
   
   
   is a Canadian company that offers life, health, and disability insurance for groups and individuals.
   Founded in 1847, it was acquired by The Great-West Life Assurance Company in 2003, after rejecting a hostile takeover bid by rival Manulife. Hugh Cossart Baker, Sr. established the first life insurance company in Canada 21 August 1847; the Canada Life Assurance Company. The firm was incorporated in 1849. The first head office was in Hamilton, Ontario on the top floor of the Mechanics' Institute on James Street near Merrick, where the Hamilton City Centre (formerly the Eaton's Centre) now stands. The head office remained in Hamilton until 1900, when the new president George Cox moved it to Toronto. He was the father of telephone pioneer Hugh Cossart Baker, Jr..
   Canada Life is based in Toronto, Ontario at the historic Canada Life Building on University Avenue. It also commissioned the Canada Life Building in Montreal.
   Website : http://www.canadalife.com
   
5. LONDON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
   
   
   
   is a Canadian life insurance company best known for its "Freedom 55" slogan, evocative of saving money to an extent that would allow one to retire at age 55. London Life is a part of Great-West Lifeco subsidiary The Great-West Life Assurance Company, which in turn is controlled by Power Financial Corporation (Great-West Lifeco owns 100% of The Great-West Life Assurance Company; Power Corporation owns 72% of Great-West Lifeco. Great-West Lifeco is the only one of those finance companies that is a member of the TSX Composite Index.)
   The company reportedly had assets under management of $40 billion (Canadian funds) as at December 31, 2004, and 1.9 million participating life insurance policies.
   Allen Loney is the president and chief executive officer of The Great-West Life Assurance Company.
   London Life was founded in London, Ontario in 1874, and remains headquartered there.
   Website : http://www.londonlife.com
   
6. INDUSTRIAL ALLIANCE
   
   
   
   is a Canadian insurance company with a diversified business ranging from wealth management to group pensions. It is a major player in the Canadian market where it serves three million people across the country and ranks fourth among insurance companies however, the company has recently begun focusing on increasing its presence in the US market where it sees an opportunity for growth. Its first major expansion into the US market happened in April 2010 when it purchased American Amicable Life Insurance of Texas for $145 million. In 2010, Industrial Alliance listed in Forbes Magazines "Global 2000" list of companies
   Website : http://www.inalco.com
   
7. FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
   
   
   
   is a financial holding company based in Toronto, Ontario, which is engaged in property, casualty, and life insurance and reinsurance, investment management, and insurance claims management. The company operates primarily through several subsidiaries, including Odyssey Re, Northbridge Financial, Crum & Forster and Zenith Insurance Company.
   As of December 31, 2010, Fairfax had total assets of approximately $31.7 billion, and its revenue for the prior twelve months was approximately $6.2 billion. Over the last 25 years (that is, since present management took over - until fiscal year Dec. 31, 2010), the company book value per share has compounded by 25% per year,while the common stock price has followed the growth at 21% per year.
   Fairfax Financial has worldwide over 8,200 employees (5,000 of them work throughout the United States). There are just 30 employees at head office in Toronto.
   Website : http://www.fairfax.ca/
   
8. THE STANDARD LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY
   
   
   
   was established in 1825 and was reincorporated as a mutual assurance company in 1925.
   During the 19th century it opened offices in Canada, India, Shanghai and Uruguay.
   In 2006 demutualisation took place and the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange.
   The company sold Standard Life Bank plc to Barclays plc in January 2010 and then acquired the remaining 75 per cent stake in Threesixty, a financial advisory support business, that it did not already own for an undisclosed sum in March 2010.
   It sold its healthcare division to Discovery Holdings, a South African business, in May 2010and went on to buy Focus Solutions Group, a financial software company, for £42m in December 2010.
   In February 2013, the company announced that it had acquired the private client division of Newton Management Limited, a UK wealth management unit of BNY Mellon, in a deal worth up to £83.5 million.
   Website :http://www.standardlife.ca
   
9. INTACT FINANCIAL CORPORATION
   
   
   
   is a Canadian insurance company; formerly the ING Group subsidiary ING Canada. It is Canada's leading provider of property and casualty insurance (home, auto and business, 17% of the Canadian market).It also serves the private, public and commercial (trucks, snowmobiles) vehicle market, covers theft and vandalism, and provides other forms of business insurance.
   Website : http://www.intactfc.com/
   
10. DESJARDINS FINANCIAL SECURITY
    
    
    
    is the life and health insurance arm of Desjardins Group, the leading financial institution in Quebec and the largest cooperative financial group in Canada.
    Desjardins Financial Security specializes in individual and group life and health insurance, as well as retirement savings products and services. The Company employs more than 3,700 people and administers over $22 billion in assets.
    It is ranked as the fourth largest life and health insurer in Canada and first in Quebec in terms of written premiums.
    The head office of Desjardins Financial Security is in Lévis, Quebec.
    Desjardins Financial Security has branches in several cities across Canada, including Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and St. John's.
    Website : http://www.desjardinslifeinsurance.com