Manulife adopts John Hancock brand name in United States.

Manulife Financial Corp.'s line of life insurance and annuity products will be sold in the United States under the John Hancock brand, and the issuing company no longer will be Manulife USA, but John Hancock USA. The moves leverage John Hancock's strong brand recognition in the United States.

"This was the game plan from the day the Manulife-John Hancock merger was announced," said Brent Dennis, vice president of marketing at John Hancock. "It was very quickly recognized which company had the powerful brand, and which one didn't." The companies closed on the merger in April 2004. Manulife will remain the brand name in Canada and other countries, Dennis said.

The name change was a "huge project" that involved having to revamp operating systems, state filing forms, Web sites and product marketing materials, said Dennis. "We also wanted to make life easier for producers," he said. "The huge advantage is that John Hancock is a more recognizable brand than Manulife was. That should help them close sales easier. Having all products branded John Hancock also gives us additional flexibility, common underwriting guidelines and fewer application forms." Dennis said a new illustration software system that will incorporate the best features of both former systems is also on the way.