Website: manulife.ca/personal/group-plans/group-benefits
Head office address (Canada): 500 King Street North, Waterloo, ON N2J 4C6
Year established: 1887
Ownership structure: group benefits division of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly traded Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC)
Target market/client profile: Canadian employers of all sizes, plan members and their dependants, and benefits advisors and brokers seeking group health, dental, life, disability, and wellness coverage
Number of professional staff: over 38,000 globally (MFC)
Canadian office locations: Waterloo, Toronto, and Montreal
Manulife Group Benefits (MGB) is the employer group insurance division of publicly traded Manulife Financial Corporation in Waterloo. The division provides group health, dental, life, disability, and wellness coverage to about 27,000 Canadian employer groups.
The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company launched in 1887 with Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, as its founding president. The insurer covered 915 lives in its first year and opened its Toronto head office at 200 Bloor Street in 1925.
Manulife says it became one of the first North American insurers to cover people with diabetes in 1942. The company ran as a mutual insurer for more than a century before the late 1990s brought a major change.
Manulife demutualized in 1999 and listed on the TSX and NYSE in what was then Canada’s largest IPO. That $2.5 billion public offering marked the end of over 110 years as a mutual company.
The insurer then merged with Boston-based John Hancock Financial Services in 2004 to grow its North American reach. Manulife says the deal made it Canada’s largest life insurer and the fifth largest globally at the time.
Manulife was one of the first Canadian life insurers to build AI into underwriting in 2018. The company followed that move by adding telemedicine to its group benefit plans during the pandemic in 2020.
The Group Benefits division then piloted a Personalized Medicine program in 2021 to match medications to members through genetic testing. Manulife says 80 percent of pilot members changed medications before the program opened to Extended Health Care members in 2023.
MGB partnered with cancer coaching platform Osara Health to launch a Cancer Coach pilot in 2026. The program pairs select members on disability coverage with trained coaches for one-on-one support through treatment and recovery.
Manulife Group Benefits also updated its Manulife Vitality wellness program in 2025 with diabetes prevention and mental health resources. Those updates added an ŌURA health tracker partnership and new tools for nutrition, fitness, and personalized medicine.
Manulife Group Benefits offers employer-sponsored insurance, health programs, and digital tools across Canada:
Manulife Group Benefits partnered with Maven Clinic to offer eligible members 24/7 virtual care for fertility, maternity, and menopause. The division also runs FollowMe Health, which gives departing members guaranteed acceptance and a permanent 5 percent savings within 120 days.
Naveed Irshad is president and CEO of Manulife Canada, which includes group benefits, retail insurance, affinity markets, and Manulife Bank. He previously served as president and CEO of Manulife Singapore and led the company’s North American Legacy Business. Irshad holds FSA, FCIA, and MAAA designations.
Irshad runs Manulife Group Benefits alongside these key figures:
Manulife Financial Corporation’s board of directors governs the parent company and all divisions, including Group Benefits. The board includes these members as of 2026:
The board oversees strategy, risk management, and governance standards across all Manulife operations.
Manulife Group Benefits covers plan members and dependants across employer groups of all sizes in Canada.
The division writes group business across every province and territory from its base in Waterloo. Manulife Canada reports over 7 million customers across all its business lines, including Group Benefits. The 2025 annual report listed Group Benefits as one of the company’s four “highest potential” business lines.
Manulife Group Benefits tracks claims trends and publishes research for plan sponsors. The division’s fertility coverage data from 2025 showed drug claims among women rose nearly 15 percent in 2024.
Fewer than one percent of employers with Manulife group plans cover fertility clinic treatments. The division also worked with Cleveland Clinic Canada and CAMH’s womenmind initiative on a 2024 report about women’s workplace health.
Manulife Financial holds memberships with these industry groups:
Manulife has been recognized by Benefits and Pensions Monitor (BPM) in the benefits space. Our Top Benefit Providers in Canada awards for 2024 named Manulife as one of 15 winners. The awards recognize benefit providers across the Canadian pensions and benefits industry.
BPM also compiled a list of Canada’s five largest group insurers in 2023 based on their mix of group benefits products. Manulife Financial Corp. ranked third on the list.
Manulife data shows employers face rising fertility use while most plans stop at medication
New cancer coach program backs employees through treatment, recovery and return to work
'This program can be accessible to all of our plan sponsors and accessible for those who might have some cost pressures,' says Manulife Group Benefits' head of product
New Manulife report offers strategies for employers to support women through key health challenges
Manulife Extended Health Care plan members can now use genetic testing to find most suitable medications
