John Hancock
Although the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company was formed in 1862, the company has gone through several permutations since then. The John Hancock Life Insurance Company and the John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company are now owned by Manulife Financial —the biggest insurance company in North America, which acquired John Hancock Financial Services Inc. for $10.4 billion in late 2003.
One of the Largest Life Insurance Companies in the U.S.
Manulife's head office is located in Toronto, Canada, and the company has offices in 19 countries. The insurance company’s John Hancock subsidiary is one of the largest life insurance companies in the U.S., offering products such as:
- Life insurance
- Fixed and variable annuities
- Mutual funds
- 401(k) plans
- Long term care insurance
- College savings
Together the John Hancock Life Insurance Company and the John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Company have billions of dollars in assets.
Class Action Settlement for Bad Faith Insurance
John Hancock Financial Services has a history of denying insurance claims and using forms of bad faith insurance practices that are widespread in the U.S. insurance industry. For example, the company paid a $713 million settlement in a class action to four million policyholders in 1997 regarding a practice called "churning" in which sales agents misled customers about returns on their insurance investments.
Bad Faith Insurance, "Churning"
By "churning," an insurance agent persuades a client to replace an existing insurance policy with a new policy. The agent may state that the client can use the equity that has accrued in the existing policy to pay for the new policy and that thus there is "no cost" for getting a "better policy."
Some insurance agents have engaged in churning simply to earn the commission on a new policy (commissions are higher in the first year of a policy), or because the agent has switched insurance companies and the new employer will benefit from the new policy. However, churning is not of benefit to the client; it is a deception and an example of insurance bad faith.
If You Have Been Impacted by Bad Faith Insurance
If you feel that you have been the victim of a bad faith practice by an insurance company, don't waste anytime. Contact us today to speak with an attorney experienced in representing the rights of victims of bad faith insurance claims. We will thoroughly evaluate your situation and aggressively fight to protect your rights.
Be assured your matters will be in experienced & caring hands.
