In the late 1950s, the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company achieved record growth as the business expanded and reached new heights. By 1959, it had reached over $1 billion in assets and insurance coverage. In 1961, it came over $1 billion in new business, marking the second year the company experienced growth exceeding one billion dollars. The company was headquartered in Toronto. Its growth continued; by 1968, it had reached a billion dollars in new business.
Manulife Financial Corporation
As one of the largest insurance companies in Canada, Manulife is governed by the Insurance Companies Act, a federal statute that allows for the sale of life insurance. This law allows insurance companies to provide various financial services, banking, investment advice, mutual funds, trust services, real estate brokerage and valuation information processing. This law requires the financial stability of the company. Which is responsible for monitoring its operations.
Local government authorities in the United States, Canada, and Europe regulate the companies’ businesses. Canada, Manulife is subject to provincial and federal securities laws. In the U.S., Manulife operates under the brands Manulife and John Hancock. Asia, Manulife has a significant presence, with a U.S. business offering annuities and life insurance products.
In the 1990s, Manulife began to diversify. The company bought Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance Company in Japan for $1 billion, a record-breaking deal for a Canadian insurer. In addition, it purchased Commercial Union Life’s Canadian life insurance operation. In 2002, Manulife purchased Zurich Life Insurance Company of Canada. However, the company has not fully realized the benefits of its recent business moves.
The company began operations in 1887, named after the first prime minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald. It was incorporated in 1887 and soon achieved exponential growth. By the end of the first decade, it had reached $1.2 million in assets. The company began to enter foreign markets, and in 1903, it began selling basic life insurance in the United States. As the company continued to grow, geographic expansion followed.
The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company
The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company is an international insurance company operating in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It offers a variety of insurance and wealth management services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. The company began its operations in 1893 and, by 1903, had established offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Shanghai, China. As the company continued its expansion and growth, it reached CA$ 542 million in assets and sold insurance policies in 35 countries.
The Gooderham family’s decision to sell its 45 percent stake in the company in 1911 raised eyebrows in the management and public. In response, the federal government passed legislation allowing insurance companies to be owned by policyholders. That change brought Manufacturers Life to Canada’s third most prominent life insurance company. Although the Gooderham family remained the majority shareholder in the company, this move made the company less stable.
In 1887, Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, founded the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Inc. The company’s growth accelerated during its first decade of operations, and its assets exceeded CA$1.2 million by 1896. The company’s early expansion efforts were fruitful, as they forged relationships with independent sales agencies in the country. By 1903, it had sold over nine hundred policies worth CA$2.5 million in insurance coverage in Canada. The company expanded its production geographically in the following years, focusing on the U.S. market.
Growth of the company
In the early 1950s, the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company expanded its operations from the Caribbean to the United States and the UK. In 1893, it established a Bermuda agency. By 1894, the company expanded into the British West Indies and Trinidad. In 1897, the company expanded to Shanghai, China. In 1903, it entered the US and UK insurance markets. During the 1960s, the company continued to expand internationally, by 1968, it had sold 540 million Canadian dollars worth of insurance policies in 35 countries.
The Gooderham family sold its 45 percent stake in Manufacturers Life to boost its stock price. This decision raised the eyebrows of policyholders and management alike. The federal government then passed legislation allowing insurance companies to be owned by policyholders. That was the perfect time for the manufacturer’s life insurance company to expand its business internationally. By the early 1900s, it was Canada’s third-largest life insurance company.
The manufacturer’s life insurance company experienced a slow period during the First World War but quickly grew after the war. In 1925, it moved its headquarters to Bloor Street to accommodate increased product demand. During this time, the company began expanding into other areas of financial services. It peaked in 1985, with revenues and assets totaling CA$16 billion. In the 1990s, the company diversified into other economic areas, such as mutual funds.
