Re-enters Participating Whole Life Insurance Market and the first in Canada to underwrite using artificial intelligence

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC  SEHK:945

WATERLOO, ON, June 19, 2018 /CNW/ - Manulife today asserted its plans to further strengthen its leadership position in the Canadian insurance market. A key component of this plan is the launch of its Manulife Par participating whole life insurance product and an artificial intelligence algorithm that will transform the underwriting process.

The whole life insurance market represents over half of all insurance sales in Canada*. By launching Manulife Par, satisfying advisor and client demand, and relying on Manulife's well-established network of advisors, the Company is confident it will gain market share.

"Manulife has a proud 130-year history of innovation and leadership in insurance," said Alex Lucas, Head of Individual Insurance, Manulife.  "Not only do we expect strong growth from our new par product and our recently expanded Manulife Vitality program, we also expect increased efficiencies as a result of the launch of our new artificial intelligence tool for underwriting which will dramatically reduce turnaround times for many of our customers' applications."

With the launch of its new Artificial Intelligence Decision Algorithm, Manulife is the first Canadian life insurer to underwrite using artificial intelligence. This tool leverages Manulife's many years of internal underwriting data and growing analytics capabilities to make it faster for many Canadians to buy basic life insurance, a key to addressing the "protection gap" in Canada. 

"We see lots of opportunity in Canada by making insurance easier to buy and more engaging to own," added Lucas. "With the launch of Manulife Par and our continued investment in modernizing our business, we are confident we have the innovative solutions Canadians are looking for," said Lucas.

Manulife also recently expanded its Manulife Vitality program to all of its term products and plans to expand the rewards in the program over the coming months. The Manulife Vitality program motivates Canadians to live a healthier life by offering them the opportunity to receive discounts on their insurance and obtain access to a growing set of reward partners.  

For more information, please go to: https://repsourcepublic.manulife.com/wps/vanityurl/manulifepar

*LIMRA 2018

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2017, we had about 35,000 employees, 73,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 26 million customers. As of March 31, 2018, we had over $1.1 trillion (US$850 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $26.9 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

@ManulifeNews  

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

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