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Manulife Life Insurance Review – Updated 2024

SUMMARY

Manulife is the largest Canadian life insurance provider. Manulife offers their 10 and 20-year term life insurance based on individual lifestyle needs. Options include Family Term (standard coverage for a mortgage, education, retirement, etc), Vitality Go and Vitality Plus (Family Term with rewards and discounts for maintaining a healthy lifestyle), and Business Term (for business protection) all with coverage up to $20,000,000. Most Manulife life insurance policies are convertible but more expensive than the standard market price.

IN THIS ARTICLE

You’ve probably heard of Manulife — they’re a major player in the Canadian life insurance industry. But are their policies worth their salt?

Read our full review below to find out more about the company, which features they offer, and what we rate their life insurance products.

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Our Manulife life insurance rating and review

Manulife is the largest life insurance provider in Canada and one of the largest life insurers on the entire planet. However, while size is not always synonymous with quality, Manulife’s dedication to setting the pace for digital innovation in life insurance means their product is also one of the country’s best.

The company was among the first Canadian life insurers to offer electronic policy delivery, although e-policies have since become more common. The company’s underwriting process utilizes predictive analytics to approve up to two million dollars in life insurance coverage without the need for medical underwriting. The company’s Manulife Vitality program – mentioned below – rewards policyholders for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Manulife offers various term life products that serve specific purposes:

  • Family Term, Manulife’s flagship term life insurance product helps individuals offer financial protection to their families to maintain their lifestyle, and coverage for mortgages, education expenses, and retirement savings. This policy is also automatically eligible to take part in Vitality Go, the insurer’s new program that rewards policyholders for committing to a healthier lifestyle. Vitality Go is available at no cost in this policy
  • Family Term with Vitality Plus functions similarly to Vitality Go, but the rewards are even greater. You can get discounted premiums through more participation in Vitality Go; but be warned — you could also face penalties for failing to meet your health goals. This feature also costs $6 a month added onto your premiums
  • Business Term offered to business owners for business protection

Quick Issue Term and CoverMe Easy Issue, are online plans with the ability to get no medical coverage – although at significantly higher prices. Manulife offers 3-in-1 lifedisability and critical illness protection through its Synergy product. If one cannot work due to injury or illness, or in the event of premature death, one can count on the Synergy 3-in-1 life insurance policy to replace lost income and provide for their loved ones. This policy eliminates the need to separately apply for critical illness and/or disability coverage.

Pros and cons

Manulife life insurance pros

  • Digital e-policy
  • Offers a cash advance if the insured is diagnosed with a terminal illness
  • Shorter-term products (Term 10, Term 20) can be exchanged for longer-term products (Term 20, or Term 65)
  • Optional feature to increase coverage up to the 5th anniversary of the policy, available on certain term life products
  • Convertible to permanent life insurance

Manulife life insurance cons

  • Limited term options are available
  • Pricing is more expensive than comparable term life insurance products available in the market

Who is Manulife?

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company – but colloquially known and branded as Manulife –  is one of Canada’s largest life insurance providers and holds over a trillion dollars in assets. It was founded by Canada’s first prime minister in 1887; today they are the first Canadian life insurance company to offer life insurance to HIV-positive customers, strive for gender balance in management, and invest billions in sustainable initiatives. Manulife offers many financial security products.

Read our full review of Manulife’s Vitality Life Insurance.

Key facts about Manulife Insurance

  • Founded: 1887
  • Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
  • AM Best Rating: A+
  • Better Business Bureau Accreditation and Rating: N/A
  • Assets: $200 billion
  • Annual Premiums: $39.2 billion
Check out PolicyAdvisor's life insurance calculator.

How much does life insurance from Manulife cost?

Representative values. Life insurance premiums based on non-smokers in good health. $500,000 coverage, 20-year term.

Age Male Female
20 $32.74 $23.49
25 $33.35 $24.59
30 $33.83 $24.85
35 $35.45 $26.75
40 $50.07 $37.77
45 $79.82 $57.86
50 $134.20 $93.01
55 $244.97 $106.80
60 $433.61 $312.06

Coverage and policy details

  • Available Term Lengths: 10 years, 20 years, to age 65, to age 100
  • Available Term Types: Guaranteed level premiums
  • Maximum Amount of Coverage: $25,000,000
  • Renewability: Yes, except for Quick Issue Term
  • Convertibility: Yes, most plans are convertible to Manulife’s permanent life insurance policy for uninterrupted life insurance protection.

What types of term life insurance policies does Manulife offer?

Manulife offers many different term life insurance products to suit individual needs, including no-medical term life insurance policies.

CoverMe Term Life Insurance

  • CoverMe is Manulife’s direct to consumer product offering simple term life coverage
  • Offers quick, affordable coverage; however, coverage is only for 10 years
  • Level premiums for 10 years; renewable every 10 years up to age 85
  • Coverage from $100,000 to $1,000,000 for those between 18 and 70
  • Potential for up to $250,000 in instant coverage if an applicant is aged 18 to 55; no medical exam needed
  • Convertible before age 70 into permanent coverage
  • Significantly more expensive than comparable policies in the market

Read our full CoverMe Term Life Insurance Review

Family Term

  • Flagship term life insurance policy for consumers seeking life insurance for their personal needs
  • Coverage amounts range from $100,000 to $20,000,000
  • Available terms of 10 years, 20 years, or to age 65
  • Offers a unique cash advance feature, available if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness
  • Family’s bereavement counselling costs covered up to $1,000
  • Optional feature to get financial support in the event of serious injuries or accidental death
  • Medical exam required
  • Optional riders and add-ons available for children’s insurance, disability premium waiver, and more
  • Automatically eligible for Vitality Go

Business Term

  • Insurance meant to protect a business as it grows if something happens to the main stakeholder
  • Term insurance policy coverage amounts from $100,000 to $20,000,000
  • Terms of 10 or 20 years, or to age 65
  • Family’s bereavement counselling costs covered up to $1,000
  • Cash advance available if policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness
  • Lower premiums when two or more people are included in one policy
  • Able to modify and augment as the business grows without medical exams or new company valuations

Family Term with Vitality Plus

  • A unique term life insurance policy that offers premium savings to reward and incentivize healthier lifestyles. The life insured can get lower rates if they demonstrate healthy habits, by among other things, wearing a smartwatch
  • Manulife provides a free wearable monitoring device to help policyholders check their progress
  • Policyholders are then eligible for rewards and discounts  (savings on future insurance rates, gift cards, etc.) based on their lifestyle and fitness level coverage amounts from $250,000 to $25,000,000
  • Terms of 10 or 20 years, to age 65 or 100
  • Policyholders set personalized health goals

Manulife Quick Issue Term

  • Simplified term insurance policy
  • Fast application and approval process
  • Electronic application
  • No medical exam or testing required
  • Convertible to permanent insurance
  • Coverage amounts from $100,000 to $500,000
  • Terms of 10 or 20 years, or to age 65
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What other insurance policies does Manulife offer?

Manulife offers a wide range of insurance products to customers.

Permanent life insurance

Manulife offers three different permanent life insurance policy options: non-participating, participating, and universal.

Non-Participating Life Insurance

Performax Gold Whole Life Insurance
  • Minimum coverage: $25,000
  • Life Pay and 15 Pay options
  • Optional add-on:
  • Term life insurance riders available as add on
  • Disability rider available
  • Children’s insurance riders available

Participating Life Insurance

Manulife Par Whole Life Insurance
  • Attractive long-term cash value and death benefit growth
  • No compromising on access to cash values in early years of policy
  • Minimum coverage: $100,000
  • Option to withdraw dividends annually
  • Limited pay options for those that want to pay off the premiums early (10 and 20 Pay)
  • Option to switch between some payment options during life of the policy

Universal Life Insurance

Universal life insurance is like whole life insurance, except there is a self-directed long term investment component: your insurer gives you options for investing the cash value of your policy.

Manulife offers three different universal life insurance policy options:

InnoVision
  • Coverage begins at $100,000
  • Choice of over 50 investment options
  • Choose between a loyalty bonus or lower management fees on investments
  • Guaranteed insurance costs
  • Guaranteed minimum interest investment accounts
  • Tax advantaged investing options
  • Term life insurance rider available
  • Accidental death insurance rider available
  • Inflation protection options
  • Disability rider available
  • Guaranteed future eligibility riders available
  • Children’s insurance riders available
Security UL
  • Coverage begins at $50,000
  • Choice between guaranteed minimum interest rates or investing in equity markets
  • Term life insurance rider available
  • Disability rider available
  • Guaranteed future eligibility riders available
  • Children’s insurance riders available
Manulife UL
  • Coverage begins at $50,000 or $100,000 depending on the chosen options
  • Wide range of investment options
  • Low management fees
  • Guaranteed rate enhancements for accounts managed through policy
  • Automatically eligible for Vitality Go
Manulife UL with Vitality Plus
  • A unique permanent life policy that combines the benefits of flexible investment potential with Manulife Vitality Plus’ rewards for a healthy lifestyle (see Family Term with Vitality Plus above)
  • Bonus rewards for healthy lifestyle: lower premiums, rate enhancements, lower management fees, gift cards, etc.
  • Wide range of investment options and option to link account to Performax Gold Investment Fund
  • Guaranteed minimum interest investment accounts
  • Optional riders available
  • Policyholders set personalized health goals for reward eligibility

Manulife Critical Illness Insurance

Manulife offers critical illness insurance for adults and children through several policy options.

LifeCheque

  • Basic and enhanced (25 conditions) coverage
  • Available Terms: 10 and 20 years and to ages 65, 75, and 100
  • Limited Pay available with age 100 coverage
  • Maximum coverage: $2-million
  • 6 eligible conditions for partial payout
  • Partial payment/early detection payment available
  • Survival period: 30 days
  • Return of Premium on death
  • Return of Premium on expiry/cancellation (after 15 years)

CoverMe Critical Illness Insurance

  • Available between ages 18-65
  • Simplified critical illness insurance available with complete online fulfillment
  • 30-day waiting period
  • Covers only life-threatening cancer, heart attack, stroke, coronary artery bypass surgery, and aortic surgery
  • Option to get up to 100% of premiums back when policyholder turns 75 if they didn’t make claim during life of policy

For more information and an in-depth look at their critical illness coverage, read our Manulife Critical Illness Insurance Review.

Manulife Disability insurance

Disability insurance (or income protection insurance) is a policy that offers you protection against loss of income. It replaces a substantial portion of your paycheque if you become disabled until you return to good health and resume work (or the end of your coverage period).

Manulife offers different options for disability insurance:

  • Proguard offers income protection for executives and professionals
  • Venture offers income protection for small business owners, farmers, part-time workers, students, and new grads
  • Personal Accident Disability Insurance covers expenses when the policyowner becomes disabled and is aimed at full-time and part-time workers and those not working at all
  • ExpenseComp reimburses overhead and expenses of small business owners and professionals if a disability prevents the insured from working
  • Manulife Buy-Sell Plus is disability insurance that covers key employees at a business as to not jeopardize the business’s value should they become disabled

Manulife Travel Insurance

Manulife offers the following travel insurance plans.

  • Travelling Canadians assists in covering any unexpected medical costs when one travels. It also covers COVID-19 related costs.
  • The Students option assists in covering medical expenses when for those that study away from home
  • Similarly, the Visitors to Canada option covers medical costs of travellers to the country including parents and grand parents visiting on super visa
  • TravelEase travel insurance assists with coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and augments your provincial health insurance

Manulife Health Insurance

Manulife offers the following health and dental insurance options.

  • Flexcare health & dental insurance is complete comprehensive individually owned health insurance
  • FollowMe health & dental insurance covers health insurance needs when one’s employee workplace benefits end due to an occupation change

You can also apply Manulife Vitality to Flexcare and FollowMe health and dental plans for discounts of up to 5% off first-year premiums and up to 10% off premiums in following years.

Is Manulife life insurance right for you?

Manulife offers unique, affordable life insurance coverage products that are a great fit for many Canadian consumers that value the convenience offered by non-medical products. As advisors for Manulife insurance products, we can help you decide if Manulife policies are the best fit for you.

As Canada’s best online life insurance advisor, we will assist you in comparing and choosing products across all our partner companies and finding the most affordable life insurance that suits your needs. Speak to our licensed advisors and we can help you find the best policy and supplement gaps in your financial security plan.

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By Jiten Puri
CEO & Founder, Insurance Advisor, LLQP
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