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The first rule of saving money is to shop around for the best price. Make sure you’re not overpaying for life insurance by comparing insurance providers before you settle on one. LowestRates.ca makes comparing multiple life insurance companies a snap. We don’t sell insurance — we’re completely independent — but we can show you which insurer is offering the lowest price. Just select your province and in 3 minutes we’ll show you rates from Canada’s big banks and independent lenders. Best of all? It’s free.
Manulife Financial Corporation (Financière Manuvie in Quebec) is a Canadian insurance company that can boast having Canada’s first prime minister, John A. MacDonald, as its first president. It came into existence through an Act of Parliament on June 23, 1887 as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. It’s currently known as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and as the John Hancock Life Insurance Company in the U.S. It offers health, travel, life, disability and critical illness insurance.
Manulife, whose headquarters are in Toronto, is considered to be the largest insurance company in Canada. In July 2015, Manulife acquired Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada. In 2016, Manulife Trust Services Ltd. merged with Manulife Trust Company. This acquisition made Manulife a bigger player in the retirement planning industry, doubled the company’s assets and made it the second-largest company in the Canadian group retirement industry.
Manulife offers the standard personal insurance policies but it has also broken ground when it comes to coverage for people with chronic illnesses. In 1940, it became the first company to offer life insurance to controlled diabetics. In 2016, Manulife became the first Canadian insurance company to offer life insurance to people who are HIV-positive.
Insurance companies have always maintained a pool of healthy, insured customers, with the assumption that healthy customers were unlikely to draw on their policies, offsetting those who need to use their policies. Manulife’s Family Term with Vitality policy gamifies the health outcomes of their customers. This policy lets customers earn rewards and save on payments when they complete fitness, health and educational activities.
Manulife has a strong presence in the Canadian personal insurance market. Manulife offers several options for term and permanent life insurance plans:
Term insurance
Term life insurance lets you buy coverage for a specific period of time and can range from 10 to 30 years and up. When you buy a term policy, your rates are locked in during that time, but when you renew, your rates will increase. Why? Because you’re older and your health has likely changed. Overall, rates tend to be lower than permanent life insurance.
| Policy name | Who’s it for? | Terms | Max. policy value |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoverMe® term life insurance | People in good health who want coverage but don’t want to do a health exam. | 10 years | Up to $1 million |
| Family Term | People who want coverage with lower premiums | 10, 20 years or for life | Up to $20 million |
| Family Term with Vitality | People who want coverage with lower premiums, who like rewards. | 10, 20 years, extended to age 80 or for life | Up to $20 million |
| CoverMe Easy Issue | People who want some coverage without a health exam | 10-year renewable terms | $50,000 or 75,000 |
| Manulife Quick Issue Term | People between 18-50 who want quick coverage without paperwork or exams. | 10 years, 20 years or to age 65 | $100,000 to $500,000 |
Permanent insurance
Permanent and whole life insurance are both permanent policies that, even when you’ve finished paying, will continue to provide coverage as long as the policy is active and in force. Most permanent policies have a savings component that you can borrow against but that does lower the lump-sum payment upon your death. Permanent policies offer death benefits with cash values, which is a tax-free, lump-sum cash payment that goes towards your beneficiaries to help them cover expenses such as the mortgage or your children’s education. The cash value allows policyholders to withdraw money from their death benefit, but doing this will lower the lump sum payment to your beneficiaries. With whole life insurance, your policy’s cash value is professionally invested by the insurance company.
| Policy name | Who’s it for? | Max. policy value |
|---|---|---|
| Manulife Par whole life insurance | Those who want guaranteed premiums and to earn passive income from their policy’s cash value. | No maximum policy value. Coverage starts at $100,000 |
| Performax Gold® whole life insurance | People who want flexibility in their premium payments | No maximum policy value. Coverage starts at $25,000 |
| InnoVision® | Those who want to build their tax-deferred (or potentially tax-free) assets. | No maximum policy value. Coverage starts at $100,000 |
| Security UL® | Recommended to younger clients who want guaranteed rates. | Coverage starts at $50,000 |
| Manulife UL | People who want to invest their cash value but pay low management fees. | Coverage starts at $50,000 |
| CoverMe® Guaranteed Issue life insurance | Canadian residents between 40-75 who want coverage and don’t want to do a medical exam. | Coverage starts at $5,000 |
Let’s answer the most important question: is Manulife life insurance right for you? While the company does offer a variety of term and permanent life insurance options, the only way to know is to apply for a quote.
Before you sign a contract with any life insurance, remember to do your research on the company and its policies.
Some things to keep in mind: Check the company’s history. How long has it been around? Has it been involved in any scandals that could threaten its financial stability and what were the outcomes? These questions can be answered via a quick search on the Internet as well as checking the company’s website. Asking a trusted insurance agent or broker can also answer these questions.
Finally, always compare life insurance quotes from various companies before signing a policy. Different companies offer different rates for the same policy, covering the same things. Compare and read before you sign. The lower the rate, the more likely you’re a good fit for the company’s underwriting standards. By using LowestRates.ca, you can get life insurance quotes from 50+ of the top providers across the country.
Manulife offers other types of insurance, which you can bundle with your life insurance policy for more savings:
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