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Manulife Recognized for AI Excellence

Manulife's innovative use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to earn accolades as it has once again been named the top life insurance company for AI maturity. For the second consecutive year, the company led the 2026 Evident AI Index for Insurance. This prominent recognition highlights Manulife's strategic efforts to integrate AI into its operations, showcasing its commitment to becoming a fully AI-driven organization.

According to the latest report, Manulife is not only the leading life insurer in Canada, but it also achieved first place in the AI Leadership category and third overall across the board. Phil Witherington, the President and CEO of Manulife, expressed pride in this accomplishment, emphasizing how it validates the company's enterprise strategy. "Our focus on disciplined execution and responsible deployment of AI is aimed at generating significant enterprise value and improving our service to customers and stakeholders," said Witherington.

In the past year, Manulife has outpaced other insurers in the deployment of various AI use cases, further solidifying its position as a leader in this space. Notable initiatives include the Manulife Automated Underwriting Decision Engine (MAUDE), which streamlines the underwriting process by automatically handling over half of eligible individual life insurance applications in Canada. Decisions can be made in as little as two minutes for qualifying applicants. Other innovative offerings, such as John Hancock's Quick Quote tool, enhance customer experience by simplifying the insurance quoting process.

The Evident AI Index evaluates AI maturity among 30 major insurance companies across North America and Europe, considering four key areas: Talent, Innovation, Leadership, and Transparency. This year's results demonstrated an increased benchmark for the industry, showing how insurers are not just building capabilities but are actively deploying and optimizing them.

Manulife's strong performance in the Leadership category, coupled with its significant scores in Transparency, reflects its commitment to executive engagement and industry influence. Jodie Wallis, Global Chief AI Officer at Manulife, highlighted that this recognition showcases the extensive integration of AI across their operations, driven by strong governance processes that ensure responsible AI development.

In charting the company’s future, Manulife foresees generating over $1 billion in enterprise value through AI initiatives by 2027, with $300 million already realized by the end of 2025. This ambitious goal underscores their dedication to enhancing productivity, optimizing efficiency, and delivering substantial value to customers and shareholders alike.

Alexandra Mousavizadeh, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Evident, remarked on Manulife’s strategic focus on vital workflows that matter most. The company has expanded its AI workforce by 41% year-on-year and has constructed a scalable infrastructure for AI adoption, aimed at enhancing customer interactions and relationships.

Overall, Manulife's performance this year reflects its capability to consistently implement AI solutions throughout the organization. With a refreshed enterprise strategy and a commitment to responsible AI principles, the firm continues to leverage artificial intelligence to improve processes, enhance decision-making, and ultimately lead to better outcomes for customers, advisors, and employees alike.

For further insights into Manulife's AI initiatives, interested parties can visit their website at manulife.com/AI. The full 2026 Evident AI Insurance Index report can also be accessed at evidentinsights.com.