Manulife Family Term Life Insurance review

The four Family Term plans

Manulife Family Term comes in four versions. Term-10 and Term-20 give level coverage for 10 or 20 years at a time, Term-65 runs to age 65, and Term Life keeps a level cost of insurance to age 100. Each can cover one life or 2 people under combined coverage, which Manulife says brings a 3% reduction in the cost of insurance. Term Life also comes as joint first-to-die or last-to-die coverage.

The core plan includes bereavement counselling up to $1,000 and a cash advance if the insured person is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Manulife Vitality Go is included on eligible policies at no cost, and a separate Family Term with Vitality Plus version is also sold.

Coverage amounts and issue ages

Manulife’s consumer page lists $100,000 to $20 million of coverage for standard Family Term. Combined coverage allows face amounts up to and including $10,000,000, according to Manulife’s advisor page, and the Vitality Plus version runs from $250,000 to $25,000,000. Issue ages depend on the plan you choose:

• Term-10: ages 18 to 70
• Term-20: ages 18 to 60
• Term-65: ages 18 to 45
• Term Life: ages 60 to 85

Medical underwriting and the Simple Issue offer

Family Term is underwritten using Manulife’s Healthstyle classes. Manulife’s advisor page says most clients aged 18 to 50 buying $5 million or less need no medical testing, thanks to accelerated underwriting. Older applicants and larger amounts may still need tests, and Manulife does not publish those thresholds on the pages we reviewed.

Existing clients get a shortcut. A Simple Issue Term-20 offer lets clients aged 18 to 50 add up to 50% more 20-year coverage, to a maximum of $250,000, without additional underwriting.

Renewal, conversion and riders

Term-10 and Term-20 are renewable to age 80, and Manulife says all renewals are fully guaranteed. The Term-10 cost increases every year after the first 10 years until expiry, while Term-20 renews at each later 20th anniversary for the same term. Term-65 and Term Life do not renew, since they already run to a set age.

You can convert to any permanent Manulife plan without going through underwriting, including partial conversions where the remaining amount carries over as a new term rider with a reset term. Term-10, Term-20 and Term Life convert up to the policy anniversary nearest age 75, and Term-65 up to the anniversary nearest age 60. Until the 5th coverage anniversary, you can also move Term-10 to Term-20, or Term-10 or Term-20 to Term-65, without medical evidence. Optional riders:

• Total Disability Waiver rider
• Child Protection rider
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment rider
• Guaranteed Insurability Option
• Business Value Protector

How to apply

Family Term is sold through advisors. Manulife’s page tells buyers who are ready to purchase to speak to their advisor, and there is no online application for this product. An advisor can also explain how Vitality applies to your policy and which conversion and term-change deadlines fit your plans, since several of them close at set anniversaries or ages.