John Hancock life insurance review: Low rates for older adults
John Hancock is a highly rated life insurance company with many options for older Americans, including no-medical-exam policies for people age 60 and under.
By
Logan SachonLogan SachonSenior Managing Editor, Life Insurance & ResearchLogan Sachon is a former senior managing editor of life insurance and research at Policygenius. As a journalist, her work has appeared in The Guardian, Business Insider, CNN Money, BuzzFeed, Money Under 30, VICE, New York Magazine, and elsewhere.
Edited by
Adam MorganAdam MorganEditorial DirectorAdam Morgan is a former editorial director at Policygenius who led the editorial team. Previously, he led editorial teams matrixed across multiple financial publications at Red Ventures — including Bankrate, NextAdvisor, Million Mile Secrets, and others. As a journalist, his work has appeared in Esquire, Scientific American, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.
Our proprietary ratings methodology takes multiple factors into account, including customer satisfaction, cost, financial strength, and policy offerings. See the “Ratings methodology” section for more details.
4.6
AM Best rating
AM Best is a global credit rating agency that scores the financial strength of insurance companies on a scale from A++ (Superior) to D (Poor).
A+
Cost
Using a mix of internal and external rate data, we grade the cost of each insurance company's premiums on a scale from least expensive ($) to most expensive ($$$$$).
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The bottom line
John Hancock is a highly rated life insurance company with term life policies available to people up to age 80, and a no-exam term life insurance option for people up to age 60.
Note: John Hancock products are not available through the Policygenius marketplace.
Pros
No-medical-exam term option for people 60 and under
Competitive rates
Cons
Not available in CT, MT, and NY
Basic coverages offered
Term life insurance: John Hancock’s traditional term life insurance product is available to people age 18 to 80 for terms of 10, 15, 20, and 30 years and coverage amounts starting at $250,000. People age 18 to 60 applying for $3 million or less may be eligible to skip the medical exam with ExpressTrack.
Universal life insurance: John Hancock offers two universal life policies, Protection UL and Protection Survivorship UL, which is a survivorship policy that covers two people.
Variable universal life insurance: John Hancock offers three variable universal policies, which have flexible premiums and a cash value with investment options. Options include Accumulation VUL, Accumulation Survivorship VUL, and Protection VUL.
Indexed universal life insurance: John Hancock’s indexed universal life insurance policies include Protection IUL, Accumulation IUL, and Protection Survivorship IUL.
Additional coverages offered
Accelerated death benefit for terminal illness rider: For no additional cost, the accelerated death benefit rider provides part of the death benefit if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Disability waiver of premium rider: For an additional cost, the waiver of premium rider waives premiums during a period of disability.
Unemployment protection rider: For an additional cost, will waive premiums if you become unemployed.
Simplified issue term life with return of premium rider: In partnership with Ethos, John Hancock's Simple Term with Vitality and ROP option gives you a streamlined application process and a return of up to 100% of your premiums at the end of a 25-year or 30-year period.
Ratings methodology
Price
4.2/5
Our price rating scale compares insurance companies’ life insurance rates for a sample $1 million 20-year term policy for a 35-year-old female non-smoker with a Standard Plus health classification. John Hancock's rates put it in the second most affordable category according to our rating system.
Customer experience
4.9/5
Our customer experience scale uses data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index. John Hancock has a score of 0.34, which means it receives fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size. (The expected number would be 1.0.)
Transparency
4.1/5
Our transparency rating scale measures how easily shoppers and policyholders can find information about an insurer on its website. John Hancock gets points for having clear contact information, a support hub, and a chat bot. It also gets points for having policy details posted, though we’d like to see average rates clearly posted outside of its quoting tool, and its financial strength ratings more prominently featured.
Financial strength
4.3/5
Our financial strength rating is a weighted combination of three industry-leading metrics to measure a company’s financial health: A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s. John Hancock has an A+ rating from A.M. Best, an AA- rating from Standard & Poor’s, and an A2 rating from Moody’s.
A closer look at John Hancock
Who is John Hancock best for?
With term life insurance offerings for people up to age 80 and a no-medical-exam option available for people up to age 60, John Hancock can be a good choice for people over age 50 looking for life insurance.
What makes John Hancock unique?
The high amount of coverage ($3 million) available from John Hancock without a medical exam is rare in the life insurance industry.
Who should consider a different life insurance company?
While John Hancock’s rates for older applicants can be competitive, people their 20s and 30s will likely find their best rates with another company; see our picks for the best life insurance companies for young adults.
John Hancock life insurance rates
John Hancock does not publish its life insurance rates.
John Hancock’s history, reputation, and social responsibility
John Hancock was founded in Boston in 1862. It was named after John Hancock, the American founding father. The company was initially a mutual company, though it became a stock company in 2000, trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2004, John Hancock became a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, making Manulife the second-largest life insurance company in North America. [1]
Manulife's 2021 ESG report highlighted that 31% of the company's VP-level roles and higher are held by women, in addition to 54% of its Board of Directors seats. The company has also set the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. [2]
John Hancock in the news
In September 2022, John Hancock announced that it would offer some life insurance customers access to GRAIL's multi-cancer early detection test. (Coverager)
In July 2022, John Hancock celebrated the 15th anniversary of its MLK Scholars Program, which has provided summer jobs to more than 6,000 Boston youth. (John Hancock)
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John Hancock vs. other life insurance companies
Compare John Hancock to similar life insurance companies using the table below.
Policygenius uses external sources, including government data, industry studies, and reputable news organizations to supplement proprietary marketplace data and internal expertise. Learn more about how we use and vet external sources as part of oureditorial standards.
Logan Sachon is a former senior managing editor of life insurance and research at Policygenius. As a journalist, her work has appeared in The Guardian, Business Insider, CNN Money, BuzzFeed, Money Under 30, VICE, New York Magazine, and elsewhere.
Adam Morgan is a former editorial director at Policygenius who led the editorial team. Previously, he led editorial teams matrixed across multiple financial publications at Red Ventures — including Bankrate, NextAdvisor, Million Mile Secrets, and others. As a journalist, his work has appeared in Esquire, Scientific American, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.
