John Hancock Financial announced Tuesday that it has completed the realignment of its legal entities.
Through this undertaking, which was subject to regulatory approval, John Hancock says it expects to establish a more capital- and tax-efficient structure, simplify its financial reporting and achieve other synergistic benefits to support its future growth, as well as the needs of its customers and distributors.
The realignment involved merging John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and John Hancock Variable Life Insurance Co. into John Hancock Life Insurance Co. (U.S.A.), thus reducing the number of John Hancock's primary operating life insurers from five to three.
As a result, John Hancock moves forward with the following primary life insurance companies serving customers and distributors:
• John Hancock Life Insurance Co. (U.S.A.) serves as John Hancock's flagship company. It is licensed in all states except New York, and issues all product lines in those 49 states, except group long-term care insurance. John Hancock Life Insurance Co. (U.S.A.) would have had estimated total assets of $195.6 billion as of Sept. 30, 2009, had the realignment taken place at that time, the company said.
• John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, licensed only in the state of New York, issues all New York policies and contracts, except Long-Term Care Insurance.
• John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Co., licensed in all 50 states, issues group long-term care insurance in all states, as well as individual long-term care policies in the state of New York.
"We are pleased to have completed this important initiative and move forward with three companies fully aligned with how we serve and support our valued customers and distributors," said SVP, John Vrysen. "John Hancock today offers an excellent complement of products, a trusted brand name, and a powerful distribution network to our markets. The realignment adds to these marketplace strengths and helps ensure that the company's next stage of growth will be rewarding for all stakeholders."
John Hancock's realignment also involved the Dec. 31, 2009 merger of several holding company legal entities: John Hancock Financial Services Inc., was merged into The Manufacturers Investment Corp., and Manulife Holdings (Delaware) LLC was merged into John Hancock Holdings (Delaware) LLC.
The realignment had no impact on the terms or conditions of in-force policies, contracts or certificates. The location of the company's offices and operations, as well as employment levels, have also been unaffected by the realignment, the company said.
