John Hancock Financial Network on Wednesday reported a 23% rise in life insurance premium sold during the first half and a 26% increase in agent recruitment compared with the first half of 2004.
These results were substantially better than the roughly flat sales performance of the industry in general and its 1% rise in agent recruitment for the same period, Hancock said, citing research by Limra International Ltd., a Windsor, Conn., trade association.
Hancock also said the productivity of newly appointed financed representatives grew nearly 25%, measured by commissions, compared with the year earlier. "By putting resources into new marketing, training, and management development programs, we've been able to make strides in growing our career agency force," William J. Cuff, the senior vice president of recruiting, training, and field leadership development, said in a statement.
John Hancock Financial Network, with more than 100 U.S. offices, is a career agency distribution unit of Manulife Financial Corp., a Toronto financial services group with customers in 19 countries and territories. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries totaled $310 billion at Sept. 30.
