All posts by valerie_ho@manulife.com

Manulife wants to be your “Pal” and set your mind at “Ease”

New accident and critical illness plans catered to protect your lifestyle

Singapore – Manulife Singapore today announces the launch of two new plans – mPal and mEase – for customers looking for protection solutions against accidents and critical illnesses. Both plans are designed to give customers peace of mind and confidence in pursuing the lifestyle they prefer.

Ms Annette King, President and CEO of Manulife Singapore said: “Accident, disability and critical illness are three key coverages that a comprehensive protection portfolio should have. As part of Manulife’s commitment to creating forward-thinking products, we set up a business unit focusing on accident and health plans to provide our customers a wider selection of products and solutions. mPal and mEase are the first two of the m-family series of products to launch this year.”

A Personal Accident plan that is effective worldwide 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, mPal covers accidental death, dismemberment and 14 common diseases such as Dengue Fever and Food Poisoning. It also provides double payment for any injuries sustained while travelling by private or public transport, and double indemnity for injury sustained or covered disease diagnosed overseas where treatment is sought while abroad. In addition, mPal allows for reimbursements of medical treatments from registered Chinese physicians or chiropractors. The plan pays a weekly benefit when hospitalized due to accident or accidental disability as long as it is within 90 days from the date of accident.

KK Loo, Senior Vice President and Chief, Accident & Health Business said: “Accidents are unpredictable, but the importance of accident protection is often overlooked. mPal is like a friend who is always by your side when you are in need. Our customers and their families can count on us for peace of mind.”

Other coverage includes injuries sustained from acts of terrorism, exposure to hazardous sports such as scuba diving for leisure, or full-time National Service or Reservist duty while serving the nation in Singapore and overseas. Parents can enhance coverage for their children with the Child Benefit rider that has an Education Assurance Fund benefit to help future education and daily expenses should the parent die from an accident.

mEase is a term plan that provides comprehensive coverage against 30 critical illnesses, total & permanent disability (TPD) and loss of life. mEase gives customers the option to convert into a regular premium plan from a range of available products of similar cover without further evidence of health. mEase pays out the chosen Sum Insured upon TPD or diagnosis of 29 covered critical illnesses and 10% of the Sum Insured for angioplasty and other invasive treatments for coronary artery disease.

“When misfortune strikes, one’s lifestyle is usually compromised due to the loss of income and this is especially important for sole breadwinners. mEase protects customers’ lifestyles by providing a lump sum to cover loss of income so that they are well equipped financially to focus on recovery,” Mr. Loo commented.

In addition, in the unfortunate event of death, a Compassionate Death Benefit of $10,000 will be payable and an additional sum will be paid on top of this if the mEase Life Rider is attached. Other optional riders are available to waive subsequent premiums upon the death, TPD or critical illness of a payor.

About Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation.

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients worldwide have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most 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 around the world. We provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were $475 billion (US$478 billion) as at December 31, 2010. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

Media Contact:

Cindy Cheng

Manulife Singapore Pte Ltd

68338162

cindy_cheng_ac@manulife.com

Manulife Asset Management Singapore launches new global equity and fixed income funds

Manulife Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. today announces that it is launching two new funds – the Manulife Global Contrarian Fund and Manulife Strategic Income Fund. These are the first global funds to be launched by Manulife Asset Management in Singapore, joining 5 other domestic and Greater China funds already available to local investors.

The two funds are Singapore dollar-denominated funds which feed into strategies managed by Manulife Asset Management’s global equity and fixed income teams, based in Boston, USA. Both funds are available in Singapore to retail investors via the Aviva Navigator platform and to institutional investors.

Darryl Aw, Regional Head of Channel Distribution, Manulife Asset Management Singapore said: “We have harnessed the expertise of our international network of fixed income and equity managers to offer these two superior-performing global funds to Singaporean investors. Today’s announcement is indicative of the demand we are seeing from institutional and retail investors for global funds that carefully manage risk and generate consistently strong returns.”

Manulife Global Contrarian Fund

The Manulife Global Contrarian Fund aims to generate superior returns by investing in ‘overlooked or misunderstood’ companies selling at a discount to their intrinsic value. The fund also targets companies whose business models have the potential to generate high returns, that have attractive valuations or strong cash flows and which have proven management teams with strong track records for creating value.

The fund is part of Manulife’s Global Opportunities strategy, managed by Chris Arbuthnot in Boston. The strategy was top ranked for its 3 and 5 year performance by Bloomberg Markets magazine in 2010 and, in January 2011, topped the Global Equity performance charts to pick up a Best of the Best performance award from Asia Asset Management for its 3 and 5 year performance1.

Manulife Strategic Income Fund

The Manulife Strategic Income Fund is a multi-sector fixed income fund which allocates between global currencies, government and corporate bonds to generate strong consistent returns, while reducing risk. The dynamic and flexible approach of the underlying strategy has led it to consistently outperform its benchmark by 2% gross over 10, 5 and 3 year periods. Indeed over a 1 year period, it generated returns of 16.64% compared to benchmark returns of 8.16%2.

The strategy is managed by Daniel Janis in Boston and offers investors the benefits of diversification across multiple bond sectors but with the ability to emphasize any particular sector that the portfolio management team believes has the potential to generate superior returns at any one time. It also has the flexibility to make opportunistic currency investments.

More details are available by visiting www.manulife.com.sg.

-ends-

Notes to editors:

1Bloomberg Markets – The Global Opportunities Strategy was top ranked in Bloomberg Markets magazine’s annual ranking of U.S.-based mutual funds 2010.

2Performance shown is the Manulife Asset Management US Strategic Fixed Income composite as of September 30, 2010 in U.S. dollars. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Returns greater than one year are annualized.

About Manulife Asset Management

Manulife Asset Management™ is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial. Manulife Asset Management and its affiliates provide comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a full range of asset classes including equity, fixed income and alternative investments such as real estate, timber, farmland, as well as asset allocation strategies.

Manulife Asset Management has offices with full investment capabilities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. In addition, it has a joint venture asset management business in China, Manulife TEDA. It also has operations in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay. As at December 31, 2010 total assets under management were US$ 210 billion. Additional information about Manulife Asset Management can be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most 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 provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$475 billion (US$478 billion) as at December 31, 2010. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

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

Media Contacts:

For Manulife Asset Management in Asia:

Catherine Battershill (Hong Kong)

Tel: +852 2202 1634

catherine_battershill@manulifeam.com

For Manulife Asset Management Singapore:

Cindy Cheng

Tel: + 65 6833 8162

cindy_cheng_ac@manulife.com

Manulife Singapore Announces Senior Management Appointments

SingaporeManulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd. has recently expanded its Senior Management team as part of its growth strategy in Singapore. It has made key appointments in the areas of Legal and Compliance as well in two newly created business units – Strategic Initiatives Office and Accident & Health.

Ms Annette King, President and CEO of Manulife Singapore said: “We are focused on growing our business here and it is essential for us to have these talented and experienced leaders on board to support our objectives. Reporting to me, these three senior executives – Clive Anderson, Chris Jackson and KK Loo – will in their respective areas of responsibility, ensure that we comply with regulatory requirements, enhance the efficiency of our business and provide a wider selection of products for our customers.”

Clive Anderson is Senior Vice-President and Chief Counsel. He provides leadership and oversight to the legal and compliance areas in support of Manulife Singapore’s life insurance and asset management businesses. In addition, he also holds a regional appointment providing oversight and support to Manulife’s legal and compliance teams in Malaysia and Indonesia. Prior to Manulife Singapore, Clive was the Vice-President and Chief Counsel at Manulife Financial, Canada, responsible for all legal and compliance issues for Manulife’s sizable Canadian wealth management business.

Chris Jackson is Senior Vice President and Chief of the Strategic Initiatives Office. He leads the planning and implementation of the large strategic initiatives for Manulife Singapore. Chris has been in the financial services sector for over 35 years with a particular focus on insurance. Over the past 15 years, he has led project management and change programs in major organisations in a number of industries, mostly in financial services. He understands the financial services industry and the Singapore market and is highly experienced in project management and building execution capability within organisations.

KK Loo is Senior Vice President and Chief of the Accident and Health Business (A&H). KK’s role includes developing the A&H strategy and promoting existing A&H products whilst creating new A&H products and services. He has more than 20 years of international experience in developing life, accident and health insurance, employee benefits, and building start-up businesses such as bancassurance and mortgage into market leaders.

About Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation.

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients worldwide have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most 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 around the world. We provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were $475 billion (US$478 billion) as at December 31, 2010. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

Media Contact:

Cindy Cheng

Manulife Singapore Pte Ltd

68338162

cindy_cheng_ac@manulife.com

Valerie Ho

Manulife Singapore Pte Ltd

68338120

Valerie_ho@manulife.com

Manulife Launches “For Your Future” Branding Campaign

Singapore – Manulife Singapore announced a new island-wide branding campaign, “For your future”, the new positioning statement of our global brand that reinforces Manulife’s attributes of being a strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking company. “For your future” expresses our commitment to excellence in providing financial protection and wealth management solutions that will benefit our clients and their families.

Our first-ever country-wide initiative aimed at building brand awareness in Singapore, this campaign prominently features the theme “Step up to Manulife, for your future”, along with four green cubes inspired by the Manulife logo, each bearing our brand attributes of strength, reliability, trustworthiness and forward-thinking. Three-dimensional cubes are used to emphasise the brand attributes whilst portraying a family taking steps to fulfill their dreams with Manulife’s assistance.

“With over 110 years of history in Asia and 30 years in Singapore, Manulife is one of the strongest financial institutions in the world. Singapore is an integral part of our growth strategy and through this campaign, we want to reach out to all Singaporeans across the island,” said Ms Annette King, President and CEO of Manulife Singapore. “‘Manulife – For your future’ is also our brand promise and keeping this promise means we are here to help Singaporeans secure their future and are committed to helping our clients grow.”

As part of the new branding campaign, oversized Manulife green cubes were displayed at Raffles Place in the week of 22 November 2010 and free financial health checks were also provided at a road show on 25 and 26 November 2010 at 1 Raffles Place. Manulife will also have innovative and creative advertisements at Dhoby Ghaut North-East Line Interchange, on buses and bus stop shelters and in newspapers, magazines and on the internet, to create an impactful presence.

About Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd

Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation.

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients worldwide have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most 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 around the world. We provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were $474 billion (US$460 billion) as at September 30, 2010. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

Media Contact:

Cindy Cheng

Manulife Singapore Pte Ltd

68338162

cindy_cheng_ac@manulife.com

Valerie Ho

Manulife Singapore Pte Ltd

6833 8120

Valerie_ho@manulife.com

Manulife’s New Protection Plans to Beef-up Coverage for Singapore

Singapore – To help Singaporeans improve their insurance coverage to better protect their loved ones against unfortunate events, Manulife Singapore is enhancing the popular ManuTerm product and launching a new one called Ultimate Protector.

“Despite the average Singaporean having three life insurance policies, they are still 75 percent underprotected according to a survey conduced by the Life Insurance Association,” said Ms Annette King, President and CEO of Manulife Singapore. “Manulife is committed to helping Singaporeans enhance their protection and giving them peace of mind. With this in mind, we have dedicated two new plans for protection that provide good value and offer unique benefits to customers.” 

ManuTerm is a level (fixed premium) or renewable (policy term extendable) term plan with conversion privilege that provides high coverage for Loss of Life and Terminal Illness at affordable rates. 

* Quit Smoking Incentive (for Level ManuTerm) – a first in the Singapore market for a term assurance plan, this benefit encourages customers to lead healthy lifestyles without cigarettes. Smokers who take up ManuTerm with an insured sum of S$500,000 or higher will pay nonsmoker premium rates for the first three policy years. After this period, premiums will be charged at non-smoker rates if customers can provide satisfactory evidence that they have not been smoking for at least 12 consecutive months. Otherwise, smoker premium rates will be charged from the fourth policy year onwards.

*Preferred Premium rates – non-smoking customers in excellent health can enjoy Preferred Premium rates for the insured sum of S$1 million and above.

* Conversion privilege – a ManuTerm/ManuTerm rider policy can be converted without evidence of health to any Manulife whole life, endowment or investment-linked plan before age 65 (for the same coverage benefits only). 

Ultimate Protector is for customers who value protection with accumulation of cash value. A whole life plan, it helps in building a solid protection foundation without having to commit to a lifetime of premium payments. 

* Features a protection multiplier – Minimum Protection Benefit (MPB) – that guarantees coverage for customers of up to 200% of the chosen Face Amount (protection value) until age 65, giving additional boost to protect against Loss of Life, Terminal Illness, as well as Total and Permanent Disability.

* Provides additional Accidental Death Benefit equivalent to 50% of the MPB for customers aged between 12 and 65.

* Singles and married couples can benefit from the Guaranteed Insurability Option, which allows customers to take up a new policy at two life-stage events (marriage and/or birth of child/children) without having to provide evidence of health.

* Offers a choice of premium payment terms of 10, 15 or 20 years to suit the individual needs of our customers.

About Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd 

Manulife (Singapore) Pte Ltd is a subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation. 

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. For more than 120 years, clients worldwide have looked to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most 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 around the world. We provide asset management services to institutional customers worldwide as well as reinsurance solutions, specializing in life and property and casualty retrocession. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were $474 billion (US$460 billion) as at September 30, 2010. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

Media Contact:

Cindy Cheng

Manulife Singapore Pte Ltd

68338162

cindy_cheng_ac@manulife.com