Manulife Competitive Strengths

Financial Strength
Manulife Japan’s “AA+” (Very Strong) rating from Standard & Poor’s is among the highest ratings of financial strength in the Japanese life insurance industry.

Innovative Product Offerings
Manulife Japan provides a range of financial protection and wealth management products designed to meet the changing needs of its customers throughout their lives. Manulife Japan capitalizes on Manulife’s global strength in product innovation to bring new product concepts and features to the market. Manulife Japan was among the first companies to introduce universal life products into Japan and was the first to launch an innovative investment type annuity product.

Extensive Network of Sales Representatives (Plan Right Advisors)
Manulife Japan continuously makes the investments necessary to bolster its nationwide sales organization as part of its ongoing effort to achieve long-term growth.

Manulife Japan has eight regional offices and approximately 130 local sales offices across Japan, where approximately 4,000 Plan Right Advisors – Manulife Japan’s sales representatives – work hard to sell innovative products.

As part of a project to restructure and strengthen its sales organization, Manulife Japan upgraded its sales offices across the nation, equipping them with the latest information technology. It also introduced new sales administration and management systems, which led to the achievement of greater efficiency in business operations throughout the organization.

Manulife Japan has developed a proprietary training program for new sales representatives and this program is significantly helping to improve the sales quality of Plan Right Advisors.

Plan Right Advisors also receive ongoing professional training to ensure they can tailor appropriate wealth protection and savings programs to meet their clients’ needs, based on “Plan Right,” Manulife Japan’s unique needs-based sales methodology.

Multiple Distribution Channels
Positive market feedback for its products has allowed Manulife Japan to expand its distribution to banks and securities companies. As a result, sales have been growing steadily. At the end of December 2005, Manulife Japan’s annuity products were being sold through 19 financial service institutions, in addition to its own Plan Right Advisor channel.

In 2004, Manulife Japan signed a cooperative product development and sales alliance with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. This strategic alliance provided the basis for rapid sales expansion, which occurred soon thereafter.

Technological Advancements
Manulife Japan’s sophisticated administrative systems for its protection and wealth management products ensure efficient, effective product and service development and delivery to its clients.

In April 2003, the Manulife Japan launched “ManuTouch,” an intranet sales support system that provides its sales force with web-based, real-time product information, sales support tools, and e-mail service. In July 2003, a web-based policy illustration system was added to ManuTouch.

By the end of 2003, as part of Manulife Japan’s technology enhancements, new customer transaction capabilities were added to the Company’s website, allowing existing policyholders to perform a variety of transactions online.

Manulife Japan also has a state-of-the-art customer call center to provide prompt, superior service to its clients nationwide.