Manulife customer satisfaction and complaint resolution process

At Manulife, customer satisfaction is important, and it is our responsibility to respond to complaints promptly, accurately and with the utmost courtesy.

Manulife is committed to providing high quality service and products to assist Canadians in making better financial decisions. If customers have concerns about our products, services or representatives, we want to make sure that these concerns are handled fairly and efficiently.

Download a copy of our Customer Satisfaction and Complaint Resolution Guide (PDF).

Step 1: Let us know

Contact your advisor or Manulife Customer Service. Most problems can be resolved quickly and easily by speaking with your advisor, or with a Customer Service Representative.

Find contact methods here (including phone numbers and more)

Step 2: Talk to customer service management

If your concern isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, please speak with a manager in that area. 

Step 3: Ask for a further review

If you are not satisfied with the manager’s response, you can ask to have your complaint escalated to the Customer Care team for an additional review.

What you can expect

Upon receipt of an escalated verbal or written complaint, your concerns will be acknowledged in writing and an investigation into your concerns will begin.

The complaint investigation

We may:

  • Contact you to clarify information you have already provided
  • Contact you to request additional information in writing
  • Share your complaint and supporting documentation with the advisor, person or group involved in your complaint
  • Request additional information from other parties involved
  • Provide you with updates throughout the complaint investigation process
  • Advise you of any action we will be taking

Our response to you

Once the investigation has been completed, you will receive a written response explaining the reasons for the decision, except in some cases where an issue can be addressed easily and to your satisfaction over the phone.

Call us toll-free at: 1-855-891-8671

Send us a fax: 1-888-259-6351

Personal information

Preferred method of contact

What is a reference number? This link opens in a modal window
Do you have any supporting documentation you’d like us to review?

Tell us about your complaint

Detailed summary of what happened

Provide details and a summary of what happened. If you received a file or case number, please include it.

Resolution you are seeking

Please provide us with as much detail as possible.

Disclaimers:

Emails are convenient but not totally secure.  By providing us with your email address, you are giving us permission to reply by email. For the safety of your personal information, we recommend you avoid including confidential information – such as date of birth, or SIN – in the free text “Detailed summary of what happened” and “Resolution you are seeking” boxes above.

Manulife values and protects your privacy. We do not give your personal information, without your consent, to any organization outside of our affiliates for the purpose of that organization marketing their own products or services directly to you. Providing your phone number and email address enables Manulife to follow up with you with regards to this particular request. We will not use your phone number or email for any other purpose.

Step 4: Still not satisfied?

If, after your complaint has been investigated by the Customer Care team, your concerns are not resolved to your satisfaction, please contact the Ombuds Office.

What you can expect

The Ombuds Office will conduct a further independent investigation of your complaint to ensure every effort has been made to understand the circumstances around the complaint, by gathering all known facts and information and by conferring with all parties and departments who may have additional knowledge or information. This Office will also ensure the company’s complaint-handling processes have been followed appropriately and fairly. After the Ombuds Office has completed their investigation, you will receive a written response, which will be considered Manulife’s final position.

Manulife, Ombuds Office
500 King Street North
Waterloo, ON N2J 4C6

File a complaint with Manulife’s Ombuds Office

Step 5: External recourse

If, after following our complaint resolution process, you continue to remain dissatisfied and wish to pursue your complaint, external recourse is available to you, through various consumer organizations:

The OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance (OLHI) deals with concerns about life and health insurance products and services that have not been resolved through the company’s dispute resolution system.

OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance (OLHI)
20 Adelaide St. East, Suite 802, P.O. Box 29
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2T6

Canada-wide toll-free: 1-888-295-811

Within Quebec toll-free: 1-866-582-2088

Toronto: 416-777-9002

Montreal: 514-282-2088

Website: OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance

OLHI may take on your case if, after receiving our final response, you would like to pursue the matter further, or if you have not received our final response in 90 days.

In Quebec

The regulation of life insurance companies in Quebec is administered by the Autorité des marchés Financiers (AMF). If you remain dissatisfied with the way in which your complaint has been handled or with the results of the process, you may ask that your file be transferred to the AMF. Following the transfer, the AMF will examine the file and, if deemed appropriate, may offer dispute resolution services. The filing of a complaint with the AMF does not interrupt the prescriptive period for civil remedies.

You can contact the AMF at:

Toll-free: 1-877-525-0337

Quebec City: 418-525-0337

Montreal: 514-395-0337

Website:  Autorite des marches Financiers (AMF)

In Saskatchewan

If you reside in Saskatchewan, you may submit your complaint to the Superintendent of Insurance. For complaint inquiries or more information, please contact:

Superintendent of Insurance
Insurance and Real Estate Division Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority
Suite 601 – 1919 Saskatchewan Drive
Regina, Saskatchewan   S4P 4H2

Telephone: 306-787-6700

Website: Superintendent of Insurance

The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) deals with concerns about banking and wealth investment products and services that have not been resolved through the company’s dispute resolution system.

Toll-free: 1-888-451-4519

Toronto: 416-287-2877

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) supervises federally-regulated financial institutions to ensure they comply with federal consumer protections laws. For example, financial institutions are required by law to provide consumers with information about:

  • Complaint-handling procedures
  • Borrowing costs on credit cards and loans (excluding insurance policy loans)

Banks are also:

  • Required to provide information about fees/charges and interest rates
  • Required to open a deposit account when acceptable identification is presented (subject to certain conditions)
  • Required to disclose their cheque-holding policy
  • Prohibited from making you buy a product or service as a condition for getting another (coercive tied selling)

If you have a complaint about such a consumer provision, you can contact the FCAC, in writing, at:

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
6th floor, Enterprise Building
427 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1B9

You may also reach the FCAC by email, or by calling toll-free 1-866-461-3222. Contact details, including email addresses may be found on the FCAC website.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada oversees compliance with the Privacy Act, including personal information-handling practices and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

If you are not satisfied with an organization’s response to your concerns, you may file a formal privacy complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30, Victoria Street
Gatineau, Québec
K1A 1H3

Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376

Telephone: 819-994-5444

Fax: 819-994-5424

Website: The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada