For a life insurance option with one of the longest histories in the business, consider John Hancock Life Insurance Company. Bearing a notable name in American history, this company dates back a decade and a half to 1862. Founded and still headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, John Hancock Life Insurance is operated by parent company Manulife Financial, and it offers investment and retirement products, in addition to its life insurance options.
With this article, we’d like to introduce the basics of what you can expect to find when shopping for life insurance with John Hancock. There are a variety of life insurance products available here, so they are likely to have a policy that will suit your needs. As you shop around for the best policy for you and your family, be sure to check with John Hancock to see what they can offer.
Types of Life Insurance Offered
Life insurance is actually rather straightforward, once you learn the basic terminology of the industry. There are two basic categories of life insurance policies, and each can make a great choice depending on your needs and financial situation. And, as you might expect, both are available through John Hancock –
Term life insurance. This type of policy is only good for a predetermined amount of time. You decide how long you would like coverage for, and then select a policy that matches that plan. The primary motivation behind purchasing term life insurance is cost savings. You will pay a lower premium with term life, and you will have coverage for your family or other beneficiaries if something should happen to you during the term. If you are still living at the end of the term period, the policy expires, and no benefit is paid out. This is a useful type of policy to cover someone who is working and earning most of all of a family’s income. That way, if the individual dies unexpectedly, the family will have a death benefit payment to fall back on.
Permanent life insurance. You probably don’t need much explanation on this point – the name says it all. Permanent life insurance stays with you throughout life, and a death benefit is guaranteed to be paid when the insured passes. It will be necessary to continue to make premium payments to keep the policy active, and you may need to remember to update the policy over the years if your list of beneficiaries changes. Permanent life insurance policies are a useful choice for those who want to be sure that a benefit will be available at the end of life, as long as they are willing to pay the higher premiums associated with such coverage.
Of course, highlighting just two categories of life insurance doesn’t cover the gamut of what is possible with these kinds of policies. Building on the base of term and permanent life insurance, there are plenty of other specialized options, like permanent insurance policies that accrue a cash value for the insured to use as a loan in the future, if desired. Also, riders can be added to many of these policies to customize them to meet your needs, and we’ll discuss that option in the next section.
Available Riders
Adding riders to a life insurance policy is a great way to get exactly the kind of coverage that you and your family need. Basically, you can use riders like add-ons to change the way your policy works and add benefits that may come in handy later on. As you might imagine, most riders come at an additional charge, so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of adding any rider while finalizing your policy.
John Hancock Life Insurance, like every other life insurance company, offers a variety of riders for customers to consider. While not all riders will be available in every situation, you can ask about rider options that are available to you on the policy you have in mind. Below is a sample of some of the riders you can find with John Hancock –
Long-term care rider. Life insurance is a great way to plan financially for the end of your life, as a policy that pays out a death benefit will help your beneficiaries get through a difficult time. With that said, death is not the only outcome that could lead to financial challenges. Should you need long-term care later in life, a policy with this rider may be able to pay for that care out of the death benefit amount. Given the financial burden that can arise from the need for long-term care, having this rider on your policy may provide welcome peace of mind.
Disability rider. If an individual who is covered on a policy with this type of rider is injured and can no longer work, the disability benefit can kick in and provide ongoing payments out of the death benefit total. In much the same way as the previous rider, this one can help families make it through difficult situations where the individual is not deceased but can no longer earn an income.
Accelerated death benefit. Finally, this rider is meant to deal with a case where an individual has been given a terminal diagnosis. Rather than waiting for a payout until the individual has passed, this rider makes it possible to access the money prematurely.
There are likely to be other riders available for you to consider through John Hancock Life Insurance, depending on your circumstances. Consider all options available to you and remember that you don’t have to tack on any riders to your coverage if the standard policy is enough for what you require.
Notable Features of John Hancock Life Insurance
Aside from being an all-around reliable life insurance company with an excellent track record, John Hancock is also notable for its interesting wellness programs that can lead to discounts for customers. For example, if you are willing to track your physical activity with a wearable device, you can be rewarded for staying active and living a healthy lifestyle.
For some people, life insurance rates seem high based on their healthy way of living and their low risk of serious illness. Those in that category may be drawn to the John Hancock program where they can earn discounts to save money while living just as they always have. Alternatively, those who would like to lose weight and get in better shape might draw some motivation from being part of this type of program.
Financial Ratings
Good financial ratings for a life insurance company mean you can count on your benefit to be paid in the case a claim is filed. Life insurance copmanies rarely go out of business, but when they do it can leave a lot of policy owners high and dry. Life insurance policies are insured by State insure funds, who pay up to a certain amount in case the company defaults. These limits are often not very high relative to how big life insurance policies can be. The whole point of insurance is to be rewarded with a benefit in exchange for your premiums if the terms of your policy are met. So, you only want to work with companies that are in good standing financially and will be able to hold up their end of the bargain.
You can expect to have no problems when working with John Hancock. Excellent financial ratings are regularly received by this company, including an A+ rating from A.M. Best. Given their long history in life insurance and their solid position as a market leader, taking out a policy with John Hancock is something you can do with confidence.
Company Reviews
The reviews are generally positive regarding John Hancock Life Insurance, which is no surprise. Of the many positive points highlighted by reviewers, the availability of policies with high benefit totals is appreciated. Some life insurance companies, while offering an assortment of products, don’t make policies available with extremely high limits – up into the tens of millions of dollars. While that kind of big policy won’t be needed by all customers, of course, but those who do need that level of coverage will be well served with John Hancock.
Application Process Overview
The application process through John Hancock is a modern, streamlined procedure that lines up nicely with the best in the business. Customers are able to work with agents to submit applications through John Hancock’s own app. This kind of investment in technology leads to a quick and easy process for the customer, and it allows for quicker decisions on the other end. No matter what kind of policy you choose to apply for, you’ll likely find that working with John Hancock is an enjoyable experience.
Is John Hancock Life Insurance Legit?
Absolutely. Building a brand name for 150 years is no easy feat, and it doesn’t happen by accident. Whether or not John Hancock Life Insurance has the right policy for your needs is yet to be seen – but you don’t have to worry about the legitimacy of the company. As we’ve seen from the financial ratings and reviews above, and from the general track record of this business in the industry, you can take out a policy at John Hancock Life Insurance with confidence.
