2005 News Releases

Four Other Pieces Receive Awards for Excellence; Two Honorable Mentions

Boston– The Life Insurance Division of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) was awarded “Best of Show” by its peers at the Insurance and Financial Communicators Association (IFCA) for its Re-Branding Kit. John Hancock also received four Awards of Excellence and two Honorable Mentions in IFCA’s 2005 annual awards competition. IFCA will present the awards at its Annual Meeting in San Francisco, September 10-14, 2005.

John Hancock’s Re-Branding kit placed first in the Mergers & Acquisitions category. The kit, developed to announce Manulife USA’s adoption of the John Hancock name and brand, showcased the power and strength of the brand and its ability to help advisors achieve deeper sales penetration and easier sales. According to the IFCA award judges, the Re-Branding kit was “a very strong piece to come out of the gate with” and implemented “creative” and “nice design elements” with “consistent writing” that “reassured sales reps that they will have more sales opportunities” with the new brand.

Four other pieces received Awards of Excellence. These pieces were applauded for their strong design and writing, excellent use of visuals, and sales ideas. John Hancock’s first quarter 2005 issue of the Journal was recognized in the Field News Pieces category, and the JH Illustrator marketing piece, which launched John Hancock’s combined illustration system, was acknowledged in the Sales Promotion Material category. Also receiving an Award of Excellence was the Advanced Markets Estate Planning Sales Kit (Non-Product Kit category) and the Protection UL-G Kit (Product Kit category).

Two items earned Honorable Mentions – the Incentive Conference -- Invitation and Program Book (Sales Contest category) and Key Employee Excess Enhancement Plan (KEEEP) Marketing Kit (Non-Product kits category).

“We are extremely pleased to receive these awards from our peers at the Insurance and Financial Communicators Association and proud that our commitment to providing the very best sales literature for both our financial consultants and our clients has been recognized,” said Brent Dennis, Vice President Marketing, John Hancock Life Insurance. The Insurance and Financial Communicators Association (IFCA) is an international organization dedicated to the development of professionals in life insurance and related financial services communications. Founded in 1933, IFCA is the largest and leading industry-specific association in its field. IFCA currently has some 650 Active and Associate members from more than 125 life and financial services companies throughout North America, including the majority of the 50 largest companies.

About John Hancock and Manulife Financial
John Hancock is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and most of Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$364 billion (US$297 billion) as at June 30, 2005.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘0945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including whole life, term life, variable life, and universal life insurance, as well as college savings products, fixed and variable annuities, long-term care insurance, mutual funds and various forms of business insurance.

Insurance products are issued by the following John Hancock insurance companies: John Hancock Life Insurance Company, John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company*, John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.)* and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York.

*Not licensed in New York

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Pam Kruh
(617) 572-0558