BOSTON, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Marianne Harrison has been named President, John Hancock Long-Term Care Insurance, it was announced by Jim Boyle, President, John Hancock Insurance Group. In her new position, Ms. Harrison will be responsible for all functions within the long-term care (LTC) insurance business line, including sales, marketing, finance, claims, product, operations and technology.

Ms. Harrison had been Executive Vice president and Controller for Manulife Financial, John Hancock's parent company, and fills a position vacated by the retirement of her predecessor, Laura Moore, in late 2007.

"We are extremely pleased to have Marianne, with her considerable financial acumen and broad gauged business experience, relocate to Boston to lead our LTC insurance line," said Boyle. "Our LTC division is known for its leadership and depth of experience in product development, distribution, service, claims and marketing. I expect the addition of Marianne's strong financial and leadership skills will keep John Hancock at the forefront of the industry."

In her role as Executive Vice President and Controller of Manulife, Ms. Harrison was responsible for proposing, establishing, implementing and monitoring viable and robust Company-wide financial and accounting practices. She had overall accountability for external reporting to shareholders and regulators, investor relations as well as internal management reporting.

Ms. Harrison has been named to the Women's Executive Network list of Canada's most powerful women for three years in a row.

Ms. Harrison joined Manulife Financial in 2003 as Senior Vice President and Controller. Before that she was Chief Financial Officer, Wealth Management at TD Bank Financial Group. Prior to that, she served as Vice President, Performance Management, TD Canada Trust.

Ms. Harrison is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Western Ontario and a Diploma in Accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a member of the Canadian/Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants.

About John Hancock Long Term Care Insurance

John Hancock is one of the largest providers of LTC insurance overall with more than 1,000,000 LTC insurance clients and $1.4 billion of in-force LTC insurance premium. The company holds $8.1 billion in LTC reserves and has paid $1.8 billion in LTC insurance claims as of December 31, 2007.

Having entered the retail LTC insurance market in 1987, John Hancock is one of the largest carriers of individual coverage in the country. John Hancock began selling group LTC insurance in 1988 and today is the largest provider of employer-sponsored group LTC insurance in the U.S.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation (the Company), a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$396 billion (US$401 billion) as at December 31, 2007.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at http://www.manulife.com/.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at http://www.johnhancock.com/.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: John Hancock Financial

Copyright © 2008 PR Newswire Association LLC. All rights reserved.