Manulife Group Benefits Insurance Reviews

Boy oh boy where do I start?! Manulife is SADLY the insurance company my employer goes through, and let me tell you, I would rather suffer than to ever go through anything with these people!
I haven't been very fortunate with my health these past few years, so Ive had to go on 2 short term leaves due to my illness. Again, SADLY I had to go through Manulife in order to basically get paid for the time Im seeking medical treatments. Both times they denied my claim when they had every single proof & medical documentation from specialists explaining my symptoms in detail, the cause of it and the length of time needed to recover. Both times they asked me to sign a form that gives them full authority to gather any medical information needed from my doctor, yet they never contacted them. When asked why, they said "we can, but any medical documents they provide to us, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST". After providing everything they asked for, the "case manager" who claims to have a medical background, decides whether you are actually ILL ENOUGH to be supported through their garbage insurance, or unsupported. Basically at this point they think they are medical professionals, and make the decision based on "evidence" and "proof". So all the money you spend getting these documents for them, all the unbearable pain you are going through with your illness, cost of medication, different doctors & specialists you see, doesn't even matter... because at the end of the day, these case managers will make a decision based on what THEY really think your illness is, not what the doctor says or what sort of treatments you are seeking. The worst part is, they pretend like they REALLY care about the individual by following up regularly which almost feels like harassment. I mean how many times during the week do you have to call or email and say "Just contacting you to follow up and see how you're doing" .. oh please.. you just want this to be over with and send me back to work when you know fully how ill I am. These people have absolutely no compassion, no empathy, no consideration for your well being. If you have the privilege of NOT dealing with this company, please find another place to deal with. They have caused nothing but anxiety & stress for myself and other co workers who had the misfortune of dealing with them. I am now off of work, unsupported, which means ABSOLUTELY no pay until I am fully back to work, (yet they still call/email weekly to follow up and see "how i'm doing" and when i'm going back to work) financially in a hole, and mentally exhausted. Its only a matter of time before more people speak up about this. Something needs to be done!

I've been covered under different insurance plans such as Great West Life and Equitable in the past, and I have never in my life been given as much hassle as I have with Manulife. They won't allow me to submit claims online - I have to physically mail in my receipts - only to have them rejected for arbitrary reasons a few weeks later. The company I was with previously​ reimbursed me for the exact same service within a day or two of online submission.

I hate to call them. Every time we fight over claims and how much is covered. Something like eye care for contact lenses is only every two years. Massage therapy is only for the $70per session. I pay through the roof in premiums and this is all I get. I am seriously considering telling my boss that I'm not going to participate in the plan. Maybe if they offer better to employees they'd stay longer. I'm looking for a better insurance company, and maybe a better company to work for. I'm done with this.

In 2010 I had to leave work due to serious health issues. Manulife provides the group health insurance provided by my employer. The application was correct and accurate. I received benefits for the first 4 years, after which a return to work is deemed unsuitable and they are obliged to provide benefits until the claimant is 65. They required testing at this 4 year mark by their own selected health expert and his report *supported* my claim. Despite this, I received a letter saying my benefits were being terminated as I was (miraculously) fit to return immediately to full time employment at my former job. There was no medical evidence to support this decision, quite the opposite. Further, the policy included a clause that claimants do not have to take employment that pays less than 75% of their former salary; all medical reports indicated that the type of work I could now perform without risk of triggering another episode of serious illness did not pay anywhere near 75% of my former (management) salary. The Manulife employee assigned to my file refused to acknowledge the existence of this clause in the policy. Another Manulife employee involved in the file was caught out saying one thing to me and another thing to my medical care provider in an effort to use semantics to cheat me out of my benefits. In short, he lied through his teeth. It was shocking. I had to hire a lawyer to fight their decision to cancel as it was clear anything I pointed out in my defence was being ignored. The lawyer indicated the run-around she was getting from them as she prepared the file was just short of bad faith bargaining. In the end, the unjustified cancellation was reversed - but not before I had to pay over $5,000 I couldn't afford to the lawyer (who basically made the same arguments I had) and had gone through months of intense stress that in and of itself made me more ill. If I had been unable to afford a lawyer, I would have lost my benefits, plain and simple. The truth played no part in it. I have read that disability insurers routinely cancel valid claimants as some of them will not know how to or have the stamina to fight back, and for those who do, it's much cheaper for the insurance provider to deal with an internal review of the termination decision or a court case than pay out substantial benefits to someone in their 30s or 40s 'til age 65. So is Manulife worse than other disability providers? I don't know. I wouldn't trust any of them after my experience.

While my experiences with the call centre have not been as bad as some of the other reviews, my overall experience with Manulife has been nothing short of garbage.

Firstly, the time to process claims is a thorough joke. They state 5 - 7 BUSINESS days after they receive the claim (which is bad enough to begin with), but don't kid yourself - you will wait roughly 3 weeks before you see any money back.

Secondly, the coverage is extremely poor - even for "Comprehensive" cover. Manulife pays out "90%" (of the regulatory "norms") - finding a healthcare provider that charges in accordance with the regulatory norms is almost as good as winning the lotto.

I had previously been with Sun Life, but had to change due to moving employers - I experienced NONE of the above issues when dealing with Sun Life whatsoever.

So, if you feel like waiting about 3 weeks to recover a small portion of your medical expenses for "COMPREHENSIVE" cover, then Manulife is your choice.

However, if you actually want any sort of adequate insurance coverage, then you can pretty much GO WITH ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER.

These guys are the worst.

My husband has a health policy with Manulife. I am covered being his spouse. Went online to make a claim, the site does not WORK. Called to advise them of the problem for when you enter your Doctor's phone number it doesn't take the number, The AGENT said he couldn't TALK to me about it without my husband's consent. I asked to speak with a SUPERVISOR, I was REFUSED. All I wanted to do, was REPORT the PROBLEM. I'M TOTALLY DISGUSTED THE WAY I WAS TREATED.

My wife's work recently switched from Great West Life to Manualife. We are planning on doing some eye exams and I just wanted to take a look to make sure it's covered, and how much. I've been trying all day to look up the amount. And each time, the website says it's experiencing technical difficulties and to try again later.
I don't have time for this crap. I have work to do during the day and when I get home I have 3 kids to look after. I can't believe a company of this size can't get their website running properly. And judging by other reviews, this is not a one-time occurrence.
Like seriously. Get your website working. There are tens of thousands of other companies who can get their website running. You should try it too. What a disaster.

This has got to be the worst god awful company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

We are offered this company through our company and it is the worst company I have ever had to utilize. I have dealt with Sun Life Insurance before and they are always so quick and friendly.

They have me on an audit for the past 7 months for absolutely no reason so I am not able to do any claims online. Therefore it takes weeks to get any claim reimbursement due to having to send it in the mail. It then takes 5-7 BUSINESS days to get the reimbursement. I am with a company, so to be on ANY sort of audit, makes absolutely no sense.

I WARN COMPANIES, IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO WORK WITH A COMPANY TO OFFER YOUR EMPLOYEES, DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT USE MANULIFE.

They have a bunch of young, talent less, rude employees working there.

Let me tell you, I have never written a review in my life, but after the 3rd time of being told I can't submit online and them losing my claim forms and them not having my husband on file even though the initial forms stated this. They are known to use loopholes to not pay out, which is what they did with me. They are honestly the WORST company in North America! I will be making a complaint to my HR department in regards to this, thankfully for me, I have some pull in my company!

My daughter started a new job with a company whose benefit plan is provided by Manulife. During her first 3-month probation period she visited her doctor and received a prescription for anxiety. Six months after she started her job she required hospital care for a mental health disorder. Since she visited her doctor and received a prescription drug during her first 3 months of employment, Manulife denied her long-term disability benefits due to her having a "pre-existing condition". She lost 9 months of disability benefits. Manulife self-promotes itself as supporting mental health initiatives at the same time that they deny benefits to mental health patients. Public, corporate image is more important to Manulife than supporting its clients with the benefits that their clients' premiums are paying for. It would likely follow that if a cancer patient started a new job with a company whose benefit plan was provided by Manulife, they would have to stop their cancer treatments for their first 3 months of employment or they too would be deemed to have a "pre-existing condition" that would negate long-term disability benefits if the cancer required extensive hospital care. Manulife focuses on their profits first and caring about their clients last.

Through my work group insurance I have dealt with many companies over the years...Blue Cross...you name it...but these guys are the absolute worst. They turn down claims based on a few dollars and expect the client to pay hundreds because they'll save 20. Not good enough when you are paying these people 40 or 50 dollars a week for coverage that you have no say in. It's just so unfair and disheartening to see a big company like this treat their clients like this. I would never recommend this company. Ever.