Newsroom

We’re enhancing our existing My Clients tool.

As of March 22, more transactions will be available on our enhanced Online Transactions and Forms (OLT) tool giving you a superior experience to submit many segregated fund and GIA transactions, direct to Manulife.

Starting October 31, you’ll find all segregated funds, GIA, GIC, and annuity product information, tools and forms conveniently located on Advisor Portal, alongside the current insurance materials.

Elevate your business experience with quicker service, upgraded tools, and product enhancements. Explore our ongoing improvements to better serve you.

We’re exploring different ways to deliver content that supports your needs.

Boost your credentials with the FP Canada-approved ethics course for financial planners!

We value your partnership and want to provide you with the best possible experience.

We’re introducing some exciting enhancements to Flexcare® plan benefits along with rate increases to Flexcare®, Guaranteed Issue Enhanced and Association plans.

Strategies to streamline the settlement process for corporately owned life insurance policies. Enhance the efficiency of the settlement process, benefiting your clients.

We have announced the PGIF account credited rates for Manulife UL, Manulife UL with Vitality Plus, and Manulife UL Gold and the Performax Gold PC rate for March 31, 2025, to March 30, 2026.

Highlights of the Nova Scotia government’s amendments to the Pension Benefit Regulation, which will take effect on April 1, 2025.

We're bringing more value to Manulife Vitality members with new offers from Oura.

Manulife Vitality members can now view and share their personal 2024 Manulife Vitality progress with the Your Year in Wellness summary.

Vitality Plus members can now claim an upgraded complimentary Garmin model

Sharing Manulife E-Business solutions to keep advisors and clients protected while we catch up on postal backlogs.

Ways that underwriters and advisors can help ease the administrative burden on our health care system to help health care workers focus more on patient care, and less on administration.

We’re providing more coverage options for everyday Canadians with the launch of Manulife Guaranteed Issue Life: permanent life insurance that provides an alternative to other underwritten life insurance.

Keeping beneficiary and ownership details up-to-date helps ensure the life insurance claim submission process is quick and efficient and the death benefit is paid as quickly as possible.

There are reasons you may send an application to multiple insurers – to get them the best possible offer in the most reasonable amount of time. We’re sharing tips to help make this a smooth and timely experience for you and your client.

This year, we awarded 10, $10,000 scholarships for the September 2024 semester.

Our cast of underwriting characters – who we are and how we adhere to underwriting guidelines, stay on top of medical advances, and seek new ways to make the process more efficient, to ensure our team delivers underwriting excellence.

Make Manulife your trusted partner for handling diabetes cases. Learn tips to help your diabetic clients get the best underwriting offer.

When it comes to underwriting, we recognize that some women face unique and significant health issues earlier in their lives than men and could benefit from insurance coverage.

We’ve updated our underwriting guidelines to ensure new-to-Canada clients have access to our Manulife insurance products to provide them with the protection they need.

We’ve established an Impaired Risk Team that specializes in underwriting our most common impairments: diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Learn how our insurance team prioritized improving doing business with us and updated several new business, underwriting, inforce, and claims processes, to address pain points.

Learn how Jack Frost makes decisions easier and lives better for residents at the North Pole, with tool and process enhancements, in our underwriting team’s December edition of Risky Business.

Learn about why our underwriting team may rate for a risk, how they do this, and how to explain this to your client(s).

Refreshed insurance illustrations and application tools and application questions help to streamline doing business with us.

Keeping in touch and providing relevant client details on an insurance application can help us reach an underwriting decision faster for your client.

Providing medication and treatment information to our underwriting team on the insurance application form can help us move your cases through the underwriting process faster.

Has your client outgrown their term insurance policy? Now might be the right time to convert their entire policy or a portion, to a permanent product.

To make it easier and faster for you, let us take care of the phone interview for you.

Risky Business May 2023 - Tips for a quick and seamless claims process!

Risky Business April 2023 - Less is not always more when it comes to underwriting – Time-saving tips!

Risky Business March 2023 - Complete insurance applications easier using medical evidence.

Risky Business February 2023 - Quick delivery secures insurability

Risky Business November 2022 - Making strides to help our advisors’ business practices and improve the customer experience and issue policies to clients faster.

Risky Business July 2022 - What’s the deal with Deposit Option on term conversions to Manulife Par? Your clients may benefit from Manulife Par’s pre-approved default lifetime Deposit Option limit.

Risky Business June 2022 - Electronic from start to finish! From application to claim, our easy-to-use tools make insurance hassle-free so you can keep your business moving - anytime, anywhere.

New Form “NN1703 - Certified copy of a resolution of the board of directors” can help you satisfy AML requirements more easily.

Accelerated underwriting is available for life insurance applicants ages 18 to 50 for insurance amounts up to and including $5 million CAD.

We know access to reinsurance capacity is important for your large case business, so we’re offering you more.

Risky Business: Life claims payments – Where the rubber meets the road

I know we’re all pretty tired of talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, we’ll need to discuss it for the foreseeable future.

Many of our daily activities, both personally and professionally, have changed over the last year. One professional activity that hasn’t changed is the requirement to deliver policy contracts to your clients.

Stacking – taking advantage of the increased fluid testing limits and applying to multiple insurance companies to maximize the amount of insurance their clients can get without testing

Jack Frost meets the insurance needs of Santa and his elves, even during the pandemic.

We’re using technology to turnaround cases faster and to help make it easier for advisors to do business in a non-face-to-face manner, during the pandemic.

Our underwriting team can help with your sales and client relationships by bridging the gap between clients and our Head Office underwriter! Greg Lands, Manulife field underwriter, shares how.

Illustration systems are flexible to allow for the unique circumstances of clients. The illustrations are subject to financial underwriting guidelines and the underwriter’s approval.

While adjusting to the “new normal” of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we are making our underwriting services more accessible and viable for our customers.

We recognize that your large case business is unique and it deserves special attention, that's why we have an entire team to support you.

Our improved underwriting team structure allows us to focus more clearly on defined business segments.

We’re finally able to offer you a fillable PDF form that you can attach as a DI supplement with your life and/or critical illness e-Applications.

Manulife has a strong track record of innovating in the Canadian market - including being the first company to insure diabetics.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” Jack Frost sang softly to himself as the sled he rode in swooshed and swayed. Jack was on his way to the North Pole to perform his annual review of the Claus family and business insurance portfolio.

An insurance contract is unique from other contracts because it’s a contract of utmost good faith. And that means insureds must disclose all material information when they apply.

Years ago, many direct insurance companies had small retention limits. They relied on reinsurers for their underwriting expertise when it came to large face amounts and high-risk life insurance cases.

Like the big screen heroes from the Men in Black movie, there’s a certain mystery about the real MIB. So it’s good to know that the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is actually all about sharing.

On May 4, 2017 Bill S-201 became law. The law prohibits the use of genetic test results for the purposes of underwriting an insurance application or adjudicating a policy claim.

If your client is expecting, having a baby can mean changing more than diapers. It can mean planning for the unexpected by buying insurance.

Each year, in the spirit of the season, your underwriters like to share the insurance needs of the North Pole’s most famous resident, Mr. S. Claus.

More medical facilities have developed their own unique authorization forms for Attending Physician’s Statements (APS).

Synergy is a unique combination of disability, critical illness and life insurance, and that calls for a unique approach to underwriting.

Most insurance is sold in the traditional manner, to protect a family or business against loss of income in the event of death, disability or illness. Products are designed with various features including ‘accumulation’ which allows savings within the product on a tax advantaged basis.

By now you've heard about Accelerated Underwriting and if you haven't, here is a link to our previous Risky Business article. During the month of May, close to 40% of the life applications submitted qualified for accelerated underwriting. We issued many of these cases in 11 days or less.

Your client is the image of fitness and you can’t believe he’s been rated. It’s a difficult situation. What you recommend next is key.

Delivering an insurance policy, collecting the premium and completing the delivery requirements are like fitting together the last few pieces of a puzzle. Suddenly, you have the big picture.

We’ve made our guidelines for non ‘face-to-face’ sales simpler. Now you don't need underwriting pre-approval for critical illness, disability and Synergy.

The dictionary describes gridlock as a “traffic jam so bad that movement is not possible.” If you’ve ever experienced gridlock, then you know it’s enough to make your blood boil.

At Manulife, we strive to creatively underwrite all insurance risks. That’s why we now offer avalanche exclusions for backcountry sports enthusiasts.

In June, we changed our underwriting requirements and also took a new approach to underwriting people age 75+. Why the change for older ages?

How healthy do your clients think they are? How does it compare to reality? Does it affect what they disclose on an insurance application?

You’ve made the sale and you’re ready to deliver the policy. But is everything “in good order?” If it is, it will help us pay your commission faster.

Getting older brings its challenges and qualifying for insurance is one. Manulife wants to help you succeed in this key market, so we’re the first in Canada to offer a new underwriting approach.

If your clients recently completed medical tests for an insurance application, we can use those test results when they apply for insurance with Manulife. Like you, we prefer not to make clients do medical tests twice.

The Internet is a fantastic research, communication and marketing tool. Many Canadians use it to book vacations, buy shoes or stay in touch with friends and family.

For most people, when it comes to their list of favourite pastimes, going to the doctor ranks right up there with filing taxes and root canal.

Every few months, Risky Business focuses on tips for getting your insurance business issued faster. We also highlight the impact “not in good order” applications have on your business.

When we were younger, we used to borrow our parent’s cars, tools and cash. Today, your client may ask about “borrowing” their parent’s insurability. What’s that all about?

Did you know each unanswered or incomplete question on an insurance application means your application has to be handled at least nine additional times?

A major aspect of “insurable interest” is the question of who owns and controls the insurance policy and who benefits from it.

Underwriters are often questioned or even “challenged” about the need for documents like tax returns and corporate financial statements as proof of income for disability applications. Here’s information on why we need financial information for all types of insurance.

One evening last week I got home and the air conditioner was running full blast. Like many of you, we automatically lower our air conditioning at night for a more comfortable sleep – but not until 10 p.m.

A powerful cover letter can be the key to unlocking a complex insurance case. However, it can also slow down a straight-forward case. Here’s a look at when to use a cover letter and when not to.

With the current state of the economy, some advisors are having a difficult time getting warm leads or a commitment from prospective clients to purchase the insurance product they applied for.

Over the past year, Manulife has made significant changes to how we review, process and issue life and living benefit insurance policies, making the buying process easier for you and your clients.

It’s the advisor sacred oath: thou shalt make sure that clients are fully and accurately answering all the questions on the application.

Whether it’s the need for speed, the adrenaline rush, or just the sheer thrill of it, “extreme” sports present a unique challenge for sports enthusiasts … and underwriters.

When it comes to the amount of insurance a company can insure or “retain”, bigger is better. And now we’re even bigger – up to $20-million bigger.

When it comes to insurance, the first premium is important. So, how can you be sure your client’s cheque is in good order?

Attending Physician Statements (APS) provide more protective value than any other piece of medical evidence we obtain during the underwriting process. The challenge we face is the expense and time it takes to obtain one.

A 2016 study completed by Munich Re Life insurance reported the average policy cycle time in the industry is 30 days. Of course, smaller cases can be much quicker and, for larger cases, the opposite can be true.

Have you ever received an alert from Underwriting letting you know your client’s application has been ‘referred’? It’s not necessarily a bad sign. Here are the three most common reasons why.

Last year, we introduced the Mature Age Supplement (MAS) test to help us make better offers to clients age 70 and older. If you have clients in this age group, you know there are more underwriting challenges.

Did you know almost 30% of applications are “not in good order?” We went back to the basics to find out why – and the results are interesting.

For years the insurance industry has struggled with informal inquiries from advisors about the potential insurability of clients.

In other Risky Business articles, we’ve discussed our ‘underwriting tool belt’ and one of those tools is the underwriting questionnaire.

Manulife launched accelerated underwriting for life insurance products in May 2016. Many of you – and thousands of your customers – have experienced an improved underwriting process.

I recently took a math course and was asked to show all my work in the homework assignments to demonstrate that I understood the formulas and how to apply them.

Between vacations, stay-cations, cottages, and backyard BBQs, the Manulife underwriting and new business teams had a busy summer developing tools and improving services to make doing business with us even easier.

Canadians with a family history of specific cancers are having more regular routine screenings, particularly colonoscopies and mammograms.

June 2019 - Our industry has well established financial underwriting guidelines and practices to safeguard against over-insurance.

This enhanced digital application hub makes it easier for your clients to open new accounts with Manulife Bank online and keeps you connected as their advisor of record.

A summary of the 2024 tax slip mailing schedule for Manulife Bank. Learn more

Manulife’s Continuing Education Centre has created the first two issues in The Manulife Group Benefits Digest.

After launching the new Advisor Portal in 2021, the integration of group benefits to Advisor Manulife ID will complete the enhanced, more secure and integrated login experience. Learn more

Manulife has had a great relationship with HRdownloads for many years and we’re excited to announce that group benefits sponsors can continue to get preferred pricing on HRdownloads added-value services.

Check out how this change with no impact on the overall EHC pricing will help better illustrate drug premiums.

It's been over 5 years since we launched our HRSS program provided by HRdownloads. Learn more

Existing group benefits credentials can only be connected to a single new Manulife ID.

Applying for optional life, critical illness and AD&D insurance is about to get even easier for Manulife members.

Manulife ID is launching for members in mid-September. It’s an update to how members sign in and access Manulife services online.

You may recall we've introduced some changes to the welcome experience for new small business group benefits clients last year. Starting mid-May, we'll be expanding this new experience to all new and existing small and mid-market clients. Learn more.

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has reversed an earlier decision. Learn more.

The new public site features more personalized content and helpful tools and resources to help members manage their financial well-being.

“Are members participating in their program?”. The Membership Tracker helps answer this question and more.

Starting this spring, members can put money in their plans, and find tools, guidance, and more - all on Manulife Mobile. Learn more

In light of growing research and increasing investor interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds, BlackRock has announced changes coming to their Canada LifePath Index Funds. Learn more

Plan sponsors can quickly get insights into their members’ online engagement with their group retirement program.

Discover how our updated version of the Financial Wellness Assessment tool helps your clients' employees' finances.

Find out about upcoming changes to Manulife Personal Plan

The i-Watch® platform evolved a lot in 2021 and is heading in a very exciting direction. Check out our Year in Review.

Coming soon, Manulife ID will be available to use on the Manulife Mobile app! Learn more.

New funds will provide modern solutions to our group retirement clients.

New dashboard will give plan sponsors a look at how their members engage with their program through our Contact Centre.

These additions can help meet a growing need for new investment options for plan members looking to build a diversified Shariah aligned portfolio.

Plan sponsors can now find their charge invoices all in one place.