John Hancock Life Insurance
- Rated 4 stars out of 5 by NerdWallet.
- Discounts and rewards offered for healthy habits.
- Offers coverage for people with diabetes who meet certain criteria.
One of the 10 largest life insurance companies, Boston-based John Hancock offers a variety of term, permanent and guaranteed issue policies. One thing that sets John Hancock life insurance apart is its Vitality program, which encourages healthy behavior through incentives like Amazon.com discounts, free subscriptions and savings on fresh produce.
John Hancock is the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corp., a global publicly traded financial services company based in Canada.
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John Hancock life insurance
John Hancock earned 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings.
Based on these ratings, John Hancock is among NerdWallet’s Best Life Insurance Companies for 2021.
John Hancock life insurance pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Rewards healthy habits with discounts. | Ranks below average for customer satisfaction. |
| Offers coverage and support program for policyholders with diabetes. | |
| Receives fewer consumer complaints than expected to state regulators. |
John Hancock life insurance policies
John Hancock’s Vitality program is available on all life insurance policies. It gives access to fitness and nutrition information through an app and website, and rewards healthy activities with discounts.
Life insurance options include:
Term life. Terms of 10, 15, 20 and 30 years are available, and many term life insurance policies can be converted to permanent coverage. You can get an estimated quote on the website for policies of $25,000 to $3 million; for higher amounts of coverage (up to $65 million), you must contact John Hancock directly.
Permanent life. The company offers universal, indexed universal and variable universal life insurance. Online quotes aren’t available for these policies.
Coverage for people with diabetes. John Hancock’s Aspire program pairs a term or permanent life insurance policy with a diabetes management app and health coaching. John Hancock says coverage was approved for two-thirds of applicants with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes in addition to other related conditions in 2018.
Guaranteed-issue whole life. This coverage, offered to people ages 55 to 80, is designed for paying end-of-life expenses. Coverage amounts range from $2,000 to $20,000, and acceptance is guaranteed with no medical questions or exam. The full benefit isn’t paid out if the insured person dies within the first two years, unless the death results from an accident.
John Hancock complaints and customer satisfaction
John Hancock drew fewer than the expected number of complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, according to three years’ worth of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
John Hancock ranked 17th out of 23 companies for overall customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Life Insurance Study.
More about John Hancock
In addition to life insurance, John Hancock offers other financial products and services including:
- Annuities.
- College savings plans.
- Investment management, including socially responsible investment plans.
- Retirement advice.
Life insurance buying guide
Before you start comparing companies, choose the type of life insurance you want, such as term or whole life. Decide which life insurance riders, if any, you want the policy to include. Calculate how much life insurance you need and how long you want the coverage to last. Check that the insurers you’re considering offer the coverage you’re looking for.
When comparing rates, be sure the quotes are for the same amount of coverage over the same period of time. It’s also important to make sure the policy’s medical requirements match your needs. For example, if you want to skip the life insurance medical exam but don’t mind answering health questions, confirm that the application process for each policy you're comparing aligns with that.
Price may not be the biggest driver behind your decision to buy. Look at the number of consumer complaints each company receives, as high numbers can be a red flag about the quality of service.
For more guidance, see our life insurance buying guide.
Methodology: Life insurance ratings
NerdWallet’s life insurance ratings are based on weighted averages of financial strength ratings, which indicate a company’s ability to pay future claims, and complaint index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for individual life insurance. To calculate each insurer’s rating, we adjusted the scores to a curved 5-point scale.These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews.
