Empire Life is a mid-sized Canadian life and health insurer based in Kingston, Ontario. Founded 1923. Owned by E-L Financial Corporation. Specializes in segregated funds, term and permanent life, critical illness, and group benefits for small businesses. Smaller than the big-3 (Manulife/Sun Life/Canada Life) but often more competitive on segregated-fund MERs and small-business group plans.
Empire's segregated funds carry MERs 20-40 basis points below Manulife and Sun Life equivalents — meaningful over 20+ year holds. The death-benefit guarantee (100% of contributions if held until death) makes them useful in estate planning. Empire is also one of the few Canadian insurers still actively underwriting small-business group benefits for companies under 20 employees. Trade-off: limited brand recognition and less robust digital experience than the giants.