Manulife Life Insurance Reviews

My deceased dad took out an annuity for my mom from Manulife sometime before his death in 2012... My mom's accountant flagged in 2021 that my mother was being taxed on an amount from this Manulife annuity that was not in her bank account. THE UPSHOT IS THAT MANULIFE HAD BY LAW BEEN REQUIRED TO MAKE A PAYOUT TO MY MOTHER EVERY YEAR BUT NEGLECTED TO DO SO FROM 2012 TO 2021. Yet they reported to the government that they sent the money to my mother so she had to pay tax on it. I called in April of 2021 and was unable to get past the guard of twenty-somethings whose sole job is to keep customers from getting the information they need. We talked to Rose, James, Ron etc etc etc - no last names of course. "We will provide you with that information in seven business days" No information was forthcoming. We called again. "We will provide you with that information before the end of the day" No call - no information. This went on through May. I said at one point that I would like to talk to Rose's manager "No, you can't" was Rose's response. Finally, in June one of them said that they didn't know who I was and I needed to provide them with my dad's death certificate and fill out a lengthy form as to why I should have this information. (They already had the POA I sent them stating that I was authorized to act for my mother) My father died in 2012 and a death certificate was sent to them in 2012. Another was sent in 2014 and yet another in 2017. I also had to provide my POA. This document was sent to them in 2012. "Just go to the file and pull the documents - you already have them," I said. "We won't do that" Was the reply. I resisted the impulse to say that "yes - my father is just as dead now as he was in 2012" That was definitely a low point having to prove that he was still dead repeatedly. Was satire required? "Yes, he faked his own death at the age of 92 in order to defraud Manulife out of a lousy $21,000 policy." We ran into a brick wall so I sent the package of notes that I had been keeping of every phone call to the Ombudsman. Lo and behold! We get a call from 'James'. "I am a TEAM LEADER," he said "I am here to help you" "You could start by paying my mother the interest that you earned by keeping her money for the last 8 years" "We don't do that" was the reply. After weeks of dealing with 'James', the money was eventually restored but we never did find out why the money was withheld for 8 years. Manulife is impossible to deal with. The action was only forthcoming because we notified the Ombudsman. Another low point - I was told that I needed to get my 96-year-old mother suffering from dementia to sign a form authorizing me to act on her behalf. I told them that, due to her dementia, she was incapable of doing so and YOU ALREADY HAVE THE POA THAT SPECIFIES THAT I ACT FOR HER. Avoid Manulife if you possibly can. They are terrible people. If you can't avoid them I would advise going directly to the Ombudsman so as not to waste the three months we did dealing with people on the phone. On an end note - we never did find out why they didn't make payments to my mother for 8 years.

Look elsewhere if you are interested in obtaining life insurance.
They will "double" your premium with two weeks notice if not less.
If you ask questions they will give you "sugar-coated" answers.
This company has absolutely no regard for its customers.

After signing up through a representative over the phone I noticed I had been charged twice for 2 months on my credit card and after calling them I was told to forward my statement to their customer service email.
After doing so they just told me they don't issue refunds, so I have been paying for 2 policies totalling $600 a month.
After the first reply email telling me they don't issue refunds I have received no responses since despite my continued emails.
It's infuriating that they would take money from unsuspecting like this and just hide behind their policies to justify theft.

My father purchased several Manufacturer Life policies in the 1950s, forgot about them after the 1970s more or less and did not know they demutualized in 1999 which means even a simple policy for $1,000 back in the day realized 160,000 shares by 2007 when he passed away. A few years later I discovered evidence of yet another two policies. Manulife refuses to provide any information about one of the policies - as though it conveniently never existed and in regards to the other they have told me my father purchased it in the US rather than Canada like the other ones he had when he was not even able to cross the border into the USA in the early 50s let alone qualify to purchase life insurance there. The experience has been a real eye opener for me. If anyone has had a similar experience or can recommend help with the situation, I would most appreciate it. So much for consumer protection. I don't see anyone doing anything about the old, unclaimed policies.

Everyone be aware that when your policy expires they will automatically renew it at a much much higher rate. My agent phoned me to ask if I wanted to renew my policy as it was coming to its end....10 years. I asked him what the new rate will be, he said he did not know but its much higher. I said I would not likely renew. He did not remind me the contract stated its an automatic renewal unless you contact Manulife. As a result I did not notice for several months they were with drawing from my acct. a 600% increase in rates, which they will not refund.

I was trying to change the payment method to annually from monthly as it will be slightly cheaper. The customer rep told me there is not such a thing. I just need to pay 12 X what I pay monthly. I explained that I have a quote and it shows cheaper and also other insurance companies always give me a better rate. But she kept saying no and I asked her to ask someone else she ignored me a few times. Now I am again to talk with another rep.

CROOKS. THAT IS WHAT THIS COMPANY IS! My Father paid into Manulife for over 50 years. He took ill and was in the hospital for a couple of months. He was put on life support at one point. Meantime his bill came in from Manulife, saying his policy was cancelled because he missed two payments. He lived by himself, the family lived outside the province, I contacted Manulife, and explained to them of Dad's illness, and asked them if I can make the payments when Dad comes home from the hospital? That I am very concerned about my Father's poor health, at this time they told me straight out that his insurance was cancelled and they could not wait for payments! Where did 50 years of my Father's hard-earned money go? That is how they treated my Father! I will never recommend this company to anyone, not even my worst enemy!

I have had nothing but bad experiences with Manulife in every way. They do not directly bill for anything and will always have to pay first and hope that their poor customer service will get to you eventually. They may send a reply stating you will hear from them within 7 to 10 business days, which is ridiculous, to begin with, but I am now on day 11, 3 emails in and have not heard from anyone as of yet. If I call I am waiting a ridiculous amount of time as well. Do they only have 1 customer service representative? I will never deal with Manulife again and will be sharing my experiences with anyone that will listen.

I noticed on a recent statement that they started charging me fees for my holdings. When I initially opened an account with them in 2018 I was told there are no fees. The fees began in May 2019. I hadn't been checking statements closely because I had set up the account as a passive investment vehicle. When I called to find out what the fees were and they said "we started charging fees in 2019 and you were notified" even though I never received any explicit mail or email stating such. When I asked for a fair solution to these usurious fees I met with dispassion and excuses on why nothing could be done. This is why I don't go with "big bank" like companies, they all charge fees and treat their own clients unfairly.

I owned policy and paid 6 months in advance. They never tell you that when you redeem your policy early (person passed away) you do NOT get your money back if you pay in advance! Don't pay in advance! Pay monthly! They are horrible.