John Hancock Vitality Life Insurance Expands to Support the Mental Well-being of its Customers Through Meditation and Sleep

BOSTON, June 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock today expanded its behavioral and wellness-linked life insurance to include HealthyMind, a benefit designed to support the mental well-being of its customers through meditation and sleep. HealthyMind is a new addition to the John Hancock Vitality program, which gives its life insurance customers the opportunity to earn significant premium savings and rewards for the things they do to stay healthy, such as walking, exercising, getting annual check-ups, and buying healthy foods at the grocery store. Smartphone apps and wearable devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit integrate with the program and make it easy for customers to participate and earn points for their healthy activities.

With HealthyMind, John Hancock Vitality customers can be rewarded for meditating as little as 10 minutes a day. Customers will also receive a free twelve-month subscription to Headspace, a global leader in meditation and mindfulness, providing over 30 million members with a full library of guided resources to help them live happier, healthier lives. The new HealthyMind program also encourages good sleep habits with a 30-day sleep challenge on the John Hancock Vitality app.

According to the John Hancock Mindfulness Survey, also released today, Americans are missing out on the benefits of mindfulness, as only 12 percent of respondents practice meditation or mindfulness when they are stressed. Of those who do, nearly 70 percent cite meditation and mindfulness as the most effective activity for managing their stress, ranked above listening to music, sleeping or exercising. The survey also found that almost half of Americans (45 percent) are getting fewer than six hours of sleep nightly, citing general stress, family concerns, and financial worries as the top three things preventing them from falling asleep.

"We are strongly committed to helping our customers live longer, healthier lives. With HealthyMind, we're taking John Hancock Vitality one step further and recognizing the importance of mental health for overall wellness," said Brooks Tingle, president and CEO, John Hancock Insurance. "As health science and personal technology continue to converge, our John Hancock Vitality program is constantly evolving to make it easier for customers to access personalized tools to help them take steps to lead healthier lives."

"At Headspace, we see meditation as both a practice rooted in ancient history and a topic of modern science. Meditation has been scientifically proven to offer significant health benefits to those who make the practice a habit, and as such we are equally committed to providing authentic expertise in meditation as we are to studying the science of meditation," said Headspace Chief Science Officer, Dr. Megan Jones Bell. "It's great to see programs like John Hancock Vitality offering tools like Headspace to improve their members' health and quality of life."

"John Hancock and Vitality have shared a commitment to improving lives by offering innovative solutions to help our members on their journeys to better health," said Tal Gilbert, CEO Vitality USA. "We have used behavioral economics, actuarial science, and clinical data to evolve and improve our program continually. We have helped people eat better with the HealthyFood program, get more active with our innovative Apple Watch collaboration, and we're thrilled about this next innovation that helps people keep their minds as healthy as their bodies. We are proud to be John Hancock's partner as they transform the life insurance experience and continue to have a positive impact on their clients' lives."

The John Hancock Vitality program is also expanding to provide Financial Fitness content to its customers in recognition of the connection between healthy finances and overall wellness. The 2017 John Hancock Financial Stress Survey found that 66 percent of Americans believe their finances to be a significant cause of stress in their lives. Through the Financial Fitness aspect of the program, customers will have access to helpful tips for planning and saving.

For more information on John Hancock Vitality life insurance and the HealthyMind benefit, or to get a quote, visit www.JHRewardsLife.com.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife
John Hancock is a division of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. Assets under management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were over $1.1 trillion (US$850 billion) as of March 31, 2018. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com.

One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports approximately 10.7 million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, and college savings plans. We also offer advice through Signator, a network of independent financial advisors. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

About Vitality
Guided by a core purpose of making people healthier, Vitality is the leader in improving health to unlock outcomes that matter. By blending smart tech, data, incentives, and behavioral science, we inspire healthy changes in individuals and organizations. Vitality brings a global perspective through successful partnerships with the smartest insurers and most forward-thinking employers around the world. More than 7 million people in 18 countries engage in the Vitality program. For more information, please visit www.vitalitygroup.com.

About Headspace
Headspace, a global leader in meditation and mindfulness, was founded in 2010 by Andy Puddicombe and Rich Pierson.  Through its core suite of meditation app and online offerings, Headspace has already reached nearly 30 million users in 190 countries.  The company also operates a B2B business focused on offering its meditation products to companies around the world as part of employee benefits packages, and a partnerships team that has forged robust relationships with many of the world's most recognizable brands, including Apple, Amazon, Google, Nike, the NBA and more.  For more information please visit us at www.headspace.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

About the John Hancock Mindfulness Survey
The John Hancock Mindfulness Survey was conducted online by Qualtrics on behalf of John Hancock. Interviews were completed in May 2018 among 1,500 U.S. adults over 30 years of age with a household income greater than $50,000. The survey data reflects the US population in terms of age, income and gender.

The HealthyMind benefit and the free 12-month subscription to Headspace are not available in New York.

Vitality is the provider of the John Hancock Vitality Program in connection with policies issued by John Hancock. Rewards and discounts are subject to change and are not guaranteed to remain the same for the life of the policy.

Insurance policies and/or associated riders and features may not be available in all states. 

Insurance products are issued by: John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), Boston, MA 02210 (not licensed in New York) and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, Valhalla, NY 10595. MLINY061318114

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