John Hancock Life Insurance Review (2026): Products, Ratings & Honest Assessment

John Hancock is one of the most recognizable names in American life insurance — 160+ years of history, a subsidiary of global financial giant Manulife, and innovative programs like Vitality that no other carrier offers. With an A+ (Superior) rating from A.M. Best and products ranging from term to indexed universal life, John Hancock has earned its place among the top life insurance companies in the country.

But here’s what most reviews won’t tell you: John Hancock used to be one of our top IUL recommendations. It’s not anymore.

That’s not because John Hancock got worse — it’s because the IUL market evolved. Carriers like Mutual of Omaha, Securian Financial, and Nationwide have pulled ahead on fee structures, cap rates, and accumulation design. John Hancock remains a solid carrier with genuine strengths — particularly in underwriting flexibility and the Vitality wellness program — but it’s no longer where we place the majority of our IUL business.

In this review, we’ll break down what John Hancock does well, where it falls short compared to current alternatives, and how to determine whether it’s the right fit for your situation.

About John Hancock

John Hancock was founded over 160 years ago in 1862 in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally structured as a mutual life insurance company — meaning it was owned by its policyholders — John Hancock demutualized in 2000 to become a stock company. In 2004, the company was acquired by Manulife Financial Corporation, one of Canada’s largest financial services firms.

This history matters. As the NY Times reported at the time, John Hancock’s demutualization followed a trend that included Prudential and several other mutual companies converting to stock companies. The practical impact? John Hancock no longer offers participating whole life insurance with dividends. Their focus shifted entirely to universal life, indexed universal life, and variable products.

Today, John Hancock serves over 3.5 million policyholders nationwide through a wide distribution network. Two innovations distinguish John Hancock from the competition: the Vitality wellness program and Express Track accelerated underwriting.

John Hancock Financial Ratings & Strength

John Hancock is a top rated life insurance company, earning strong marks from every major ratings agency.

With Manulife’s global financial backing, John Hancock has the capital reserves and investment capacity to maintain long-term policyholder commitments. The company has demonstrated resilience through multiple economic cycles while consistently maintaining profitability and strong returns on equity.

John Hancock Vitality Program

The Vitality program is John Hancock’s most distinctive feature — and the one thing no other major carrier offers. It rewards policyholders for healthy lifestyle habits with premium discounts and partner rewards.

Here’s how it works: once your policy is in force, you enroll in Vitality and fill out information about your current health and lifestyle. The program then provides personalized goals and tips for reaching specific health objectives. A fitness tracker is included, along with advice on staying fit and eating well.

The more goals you accomplish, the more Vitality points you earn, increasing your status through four tiers:

Additional Vitality benefits include discounts and rewards from partners like Amazon, CVS, Hyatt, REI, and Royal Caribbean. John Hancock also offers the Aspire program specifically for policyholders with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, providing underwriting credits and wellness resources tailored to diabetes management.

Express Track Underwriting

Express Track is John Hancock’s accelerated underwriting program — no in-person medical exam required for qualifying applicants. Key details:

• Available for applicants ages 18–60
• Face amounts up to $1,000,000 on single life policies
• Includes policies with a long-term care rider
• Some underwriting decisions in as little as 3 days
• Applications below $750K must be submitted digitally

John Hancock has also been making their term products more competitive, with rate decreases averaging approximately 13% for ages 35-60 on face amounts under $2M as of early 2026, with some cases seeing reductions up to 40%.

John Hancock Life Insurance Products

John Hancock offers a broad range of life insurance policies including term, universal, indexed universal, and variable universal life. Notably, John Hancock no longer offers whole life insurance, although they maintain a book of active in-force participating policies from before the demutualization.

Policies are issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), Boston, MA (not licensed in New York) and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, Valhalla, NY.

Term Life Insurance

John Hancock’s term life insurance with Vitality provides convertible term coverage in 10, 15, 20, or 30 year durations. Coverage amounts range from $250,000 to $30 million.

The conversion option is notable: during the first four years, you can convert to any permanent product John Hancock offers. After that, conversion options narrow. The conversion period extends to the lesser of the end of your level term period or age 70.

Term riders include Total Disability Waiver, Accelerated Benefit, and Conversion Extension.

Universal Life Insurance

The main difference between universal life vs whole life is that universal life offers more flexibility in premium payments and death benefit amounts.

John Hancock has two UL policies, Protection UL and UL-G. Both are focused on guaranteed death benefit protection and are a good fit for guaranteed universal life needs — such as estate planning and business succession planning — where cash value accumulation is not the primary objective.

Accumulation IUL with Vitality

John Hancock’s indexed universal life insurance product is where the company has historically been strongest. The Accumulation IUL uses the S&P 500 as its primary index and is also part of the Vitality program, meaning qualifying policyholders can earn additional rewards for staying healthy.

Interest crediting options include:

• Fixed Account (2% interest guarantee)
• High Par Capped Indexed Account (0% floor)
• Capped Indexed Account (0% floor)
• Uncapped Indexed Account (0% floor)

Death benefit options include a level death benefit (Option 1, plus return of premium if elected) or total face amount plus policy value (Option 2).

In late 2025, John Hancock also released the Accumulation Survivorship IUL — a new product designed for trust-owned life insurance and legacy maximization, now available in all states except New York and Guam.

Variable Universal Life

John Hancock offers two variable universal life insurance policies: Protection VUL and Accumulation VUL. As the names imply, one is focused on death benefit protection while the other prioritizes cash value growth through underlying investment subaccounts.

For a deeper look at VUL versus IUL, see our VUL vs. IUL comparison.

Survivorship Life Insurance

John Hancock offers four survivorship life insurance options — including survivorship universal life, survivorship variable universal life, and the new Accumulation Survivorship IUL launched in 2025. These products cover two lives under a single policy and pay the death benefit upon the second death, making them popular for estate planning, wealth transfer, and irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) strategies.

Policy Riders & Options

John Hancock offers one of the longer lists of riders in the industry:

IUL vs. Whole Life: Why John Hancock Dropped Whole Life — and What That Means for You

John Hancock’s demutualization in 2000 and subsequent acquisition by Manulife marked a strategic shift away from participating whole life insurance. The company stopped issuing new whole life policies entirely, focusing instead on universal life, IUL, and variable products.

Why does this matter? Because if you’re evaluating John Hancock, you need to understand what you’re not getting — and whether that matters for your goals.

Customer Experience & Reputation

John Hancock ranked 15th out of 22 companies in J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study for overall customer satisfaction — middle of the pack. However, the company scores well on loyalty metrics: most policyholders plan to keep their coverage, would recommend the company, and report trust in the brand.

Strengths include:

• Underwriting flexibility: John Hancock is notably more lenient on conditions like diabetes (Aspire program), family history of heart disease, and certain tobacco usage — often offering preferred rates where other carriers downgrade
• Billing and account management: Highly rated for ease of premium payments and online policy management
• Competitive pricing: Average annual term premiums about 9% below the industry average

Areas for improvement:

• No online quotes: You must work with an agent to get quotes — there’s no self-service option
• BBB rating: John Hancock holds a C rating from the BBB with 100+ complaints in the past three years — below what you’d expect from a carrier this size
• Customer service accessibility: No email or live chat options; phone support only during business hours

John Hancock Life Insurance Review — Conclusion

John Hancock remains a solid life insurance company with genuine strengths: over 160 years of history, the financial backing of Manulife, the unique Vitality program, flexible underwriting for hard-to-place risks, and a broad product lineup covering term through survivorship IUL.

That said, the IUL landscape has shifted. John Hancock’s Accumulation IUL, which was once among our top recommendations, has been overtaken by carriers offering better fee structures, higher participation rates, and more competitive accumulation designs. If IUL accumulation is your primary goal, we’d encourage you to see illustrations from Mutual of Omaha, Securian Financial, and Nationwide alongside John Hancock before committing.

And if you’re looking for the guaranteed cash value growth, dividend income, and banking infrastructure that infinite banking requires, John Hancock is definitively not the right carrier — they don’t offer whole life. Look at our top infinite banking companies instead.

Is John Hancock the best company for meeting your specific needs, goals, and objectives?

It depends. For term life with strong conversion options and flexible underwriting? Absolutely worth considering. For the Vitality wellness perks? A nice bonus if JH is already the best fit. For IUL accumulation? Better options exist today. For whole life or banking strategies? Look elsewhere entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does John Hancock offer whole life insurance?

No. John Hancock demutualized in 2000 and was acquired by Manulife in 2004. They no longer sell participating whole life insurance with dividends. They maintain some legacy in-force whole life policies, but new applicants can only purchase term, universal, indexed universal, or variable universal life. If you need whole life, see our top dividend-paying whole life companies.

Is John Hancock still a good IUL company?

John Hancock’s Accumulation IUL is a competent product with solid features, particularly the Vitality integration and long-term care rider. However, for pure accumulation performance, carriers like Mutual of Omaha, Securian Financial, and Nationwide have pulled ahead on fee structures, participation rates, and projected outcomes. We recommend seeing head-to-head illustrations before committing.

What is the John Hancock Vitality program?

Vitality is a wellness program integrated into John Hancock life insurance policies. Policyholders earn points for healthy behaviors — exercise, checkups, nutrition — and progress through Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers with potential premium savings up to 25%. It also includes partner rewards from Amazon, CVS, Hyatt, and others. It’s unique in the industry but should be a secondary consideration after product performance.

What is John Hancock’s A.M. Best rating?

A+ (Superior) — the second highest of 13 possible ratings from A.M. Best. This rating reflects the company’s strong financial position as a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation and its ability to meet long-term policyholder obligations.

Can you use John Hancock IUL for infinite banking?

We don’t recommend it. Volume-Based Banking and infinite banking strategies require guaranteed cash value growth and predictable loan dynamics that only participating whole life insurance provides. IUL cash values aren’t guaranteed, and the loan mechanics work differently. For banking-focused strategies, use a mutual carrier with whole life.

Is John Hancock good for people with health conditions?

Yes — this is a genuine John Hancock strength. Their Aspire program is specifically designed for applicants with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, offering underwriting credits and wellness resources. The company is also more lenient than many competitors on family history of heart disease and may offer preferred rates for limited cigar, pipe, or chewing tobacco use where other carriers would downgrade.