Manulife Financial announces Executive LTD™ : Enhanced Disability
Protection for Executives and Professionals

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

WATERLOO, ON, Oct. 13 /CNW/ - Manulife Financial is introducing Executive LTD™, an innovative enhanced long term disability program designed to protect executives and professional employees.  This meets the needs of Advisors and Employers seeking disability coverage to help close the income replacement gap for many higher income earners. Employers seeking a way of improving the long term disability programs they offer key employees now have a new option available for their group benefits plans. 

"Employers across Canada have told us they need an enhanced and integrated benefit to provide their executives and professional staff with a higher level of long term disability protection.  This product helps them offer that protection to these key employees on a group basis that provides excellent value," explains Rick Brunet, Executive Vice President, Manulife Group Benefits. "This is an innovative long term disability solution that helps bridge the income replacement gap.  It gives these employees access to an extra layer of income protection if they become disabled."

Executive LTD features three tiers of coverage, each providing greater levels of protection.  It's available to employers with as few as five eligible employees.  It provides one-stop, integrated disability claims management and the simplicity of a single point of access to Manulife's extensive network of disability experts.

"The addition of Executive LTD to Manulife's Group Benefits programs reflects our continuing commitment to address plan management and benefit requirements for plan sponsors, while actively supporting the needs of plan members," adds Marilee Mark, Vice President Marketing, Manulife Group Benefits. "Executive LTD is a comprehensive solution for protecting the income of the executives and professionals who are key to any business' success." 

About Executive LTD

Key features of this group product include:

• increased long term disability coverage with simplified underwriting (four short health questions);
• easy application, plan set-up and administration;
• optional features and executive services, including access to health care navigation and second medical opinion resources, executive health assessments and proactive support during absence.

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$454 billion (US$428 billion) as at June 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.

For further information:

Media contact:
Tom Nunn     
Manulife Financial    
1-877-782-2363    
[email protected]