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NerdWallet
at a glance
- NerdWallet ranking: No. 13 life insurance company (out of 23 evaluated).
- Some policies offer discounts and rewards for healthy habits.
- Offers coverage for people living with HIV who meet certain criteria.
Overview
John Hancock is the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corp., a global, publicly traded financial services company based in Canada.
» MORE: The best life insurance companies
Find out more about each element that goes into our review of John Hancock by clicking below.
NerdWallet rank: 13th
John Hancock ranked No. 13 out of 23 large companies scored by NerdWallet. NerdWallet’s life insurance company rankings are based on A.M. Best financial strength ratings, J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction scores and the volume of consumer complaints against companies to state regulators.
A.M. Best financial strength rating: A+ (superior)
John Hancock’s financial strength is “superior,” according to ratings agency A.M. Best.
Financial strength is important because it indicates how well an insurer can pay claims. It’s especially important when choosing a life insurance company because claims might not be made until decades after a policy is purchased.
Consumer complaints: Better than the median
John Hancock drew significantly fewer than the median number of complaints to state regulators in 2017 for a company of its size, according to the latest data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The association assigns a complaint ratio score to insurance companies, based on the number of complaints to state insurance commissioners, adjusted for market share. The median score is 1, and a score less than 1 means fewer complaints. The 2017 average score, weighted for market share, was 0.14 for John Hancock Life Insurance Co. USA and John Hancock Life Insurance Co. of New York.
J.D. Power ratings: GENERALLY below average
John Hancock scored among “the rest” (the lowest possible rating) for overall satisfaction in a 2017 J.D. Power customer service survey. The insurer ranked No. 20 overall out of 24 companies included in the survey.
More about john hancock
Coverage for people with HIV
John Hancock announced in April 2016 that it was offering life insurance coverage for people with HIV who meet certain criteria. It’s the second major company to do so; Prudential was the first in 2015. Before then, people with HIV had difficulty qualifying for life insurance.
To qualify with John Hancock, applicants with HIV must:
- Be age 30 to 65.
- Adhere to and respond to antiretroviral therapy.
- Show no signs of a weakening immune system.
- Show no signs of “comorbid conditions,” which are illnesses that are usually independent of another disease but occur with it.
