For the first half of 2009, SunLife’s VA sales rose 35%, the company noted in a release, well above the Morningstar/VARDS Industry average of -25.4% for the same time period when compared to the first half of 2008. Sun Life’s VA assets rose the first six months of 2009 by 10.7%, also beating the comparable 5.1% industry average gain for the same time period. The company has also almost doubled its market share in VA sales since the end of 2008, and reports that 91% of all its new VA sales for the first half of the year included at least one optional living benefit.