Sun Life reports higher second-quarter profit

Sun Life FinancialSLF-T -0.73%decrease reported a rise in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by its acquisition of U.S. dental benefits provider Dentaquest and strong insurance sales at home.Sunlife has been diversifying its business across the globe and expanded its U.S. footprint with the acquisition of Dentaquest last year. At home, the company is buying Canadian virtual healthcare and wellness platform Dialogue.chief executive officer Kevin Strain said health and protection sales growth were strong in the quarter and its investment in Dialogue would help the Toronto-based company play a larger role in Canada’s health ecosystem, while reducing the strain on traditional health care organizations.The Toronto-based insurance and asset management company said earnings from its group insurance segment surged 51% while individual insurance business rose 23%.Earnings from wealth and asset management segment fell 1% largely due to higher expenses and lower fee-based earnings.The insurer posted underlying net income of C$920 million ($685.54 million), or C$1.57 per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with C$808 million, or C$1.38 per share, a year earlier.