Manulife enhances critical illness insurance with enhanced features and improved rates

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

C$ unless otherwise stated

TORONTO, Jan. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - Manulife Insurance today announced product enhancements and some price improvements to its Lifecheque critical illness insurance. These enhancements reflect Manulife's focus on providing attractive health insurance products to Canadians and its adoption of the 2013 Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) benchmark definitions for applicable critical illnesses.

"Unfortunately, many Canadians are struck with a debilitating, severe or chronic medical condition and need additional assistance to cope with this financially" said David Baker, Assistant Vice President, Insurance, Manulife.  "Manulife's Lifecheque product is a great solution that provides customers with choices, making it easier for Canadians to cope when faced with these life-altering situations."

Enhancements to Lifecheque Critical Illness include:

• The expansion of Alzheimer's disease to include Dementia and the expansion of Parkinson's disease to include specified atypical parkinsonian disorders;
• The addition of two covered conditions: Aplastic anemia and Bacterial meningitis;
• The addition of three  conditions under the Early Intervention Benefit : Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CCL) Rai stage 0, Papillary or follicular thyroid cancer Stage T1 and Stage 1 malignant melanoma;
• Improved access to LivingCare by reducing the waiting period to 90 days (from 180 days)*;
• Removal of sub-standard rating to Return of Premium Riders when the associated base insurance coverage is also rated sub-standard;
• Price improvements on select plan types and return of premium riders, particularly for younger clients.

*Subject to additional underwriting.

For more information visit Manulife.ca/Lifecheque.

About Manulife

Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world. We provide strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for our customers' significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$663 billion (US$591 billion) as at September 30, 2014.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com 

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation