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NerdWallet
at a glance
- NerdWallet ranking: No. 10 life insurance company.
- Discounts and rewards offered 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: 10th
John Hancock ranked No. 10 out of the 20 best life insurance companies as scored by NerdWallet. The 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. NerdWallet scores the largest national life insurance companies that sell policies to individuals.
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 customer satisfaction in a 2018 J.D. Power U.S. life insurance survey. The insurer ranked No. 14 overall out of 23 companies included in the survey.
More about john hancock
john hancock life insurance options
Term life: Terms of 10, 15 and 20 years are available, and many policies can be converted to permanent coverage. You can get an estimated quote on the website if you provide contact information.
Permanent life: The company offers universal, indexed universal and variable universal life insurance. It also offers guaranteed-acceptance whole life of up to $20,000 for funeral and other final expenses.
Discounts and rewards program: John Hancock’s Vitality program is available on all life insurance policies. The basic “Vitality Go” program is free with a policy. It gives access to fitness and nutrition information through an app and website and rewards healthy activities with discounts to Amazon.com and REI, the outdoor recreation retailer. The Vitality Plus program is $2 a month and features up to 15% discounts on annual life insurance premiums for activities such as exercising and getting regular checkups. The program offers a free Fitbit device for tracking exercise, or the opportunity to earn an Apple Watch for $25 plus tax. Users can also earn discounts on hotels, food and other items.
Coverage for people living with HIV: John Hancock offers term and permanent coverage of up to $2 million to applicants ages 30 to 65 who meet certain criteria, such as following and responding to antiretroviral therapy.
