Manulife has been named the number one life insurance company for AI maturity overall for the second consecutive year in the 2026 Evident AI Index for Insurance. The company is also now the top insurer in Canada, ranks first in the AI Leadership category, and places third overall among all insurers included in the ranking.
The recognition highlights Manulife’s ability to scale AI-driven innovation across its global operations while delivering measurable business value and impact. It also reflects the company’s progress in advancing its strategic priority of operating as an AI-powered organization.
“We’re proud to be named the number one life insurer for AI maturity for the second year in a row and are now a top three company overall. This is a powerful validation of Manulife’s refreshed enterprise strategy, and our commitment to being an AI-powered organization globally,” said Phil Witherington, President and CEO, Manulife. “As we continue to scale, we are focused on disciplined execution and responsible deployment. We expect to generate more than $1 billion of enterprise value by 2027, with $300 million achieved as of year-end 2025, reinforcing that our approach is not only improving productivity and efficiency, but also delivering real impact for our customers, colleagues and shareholders.”
AI Deployment Across Global Operations
According to Evident, Manulife has disclosed the deployment of more AI use cases than any other insurer included in the Index. The company’s deployment efforts over the past year demonstrate its continued focus on implementing AI solutions that deliver measurable outcomes across different areas of the business.
One of the company’s key initiatives is the Manulife Automated Underwriting Decision Engine (MAUDE) in Canada. The platform processes more than half of eligible individual life insurance applications automatically and can deliver decisions in as little as two minutes for qualified applicants.
Additional AI-powered initiatives include John Hancock’s Quick Quote, which simplifies and accelerates the insurance quoting experience. Manulife has also introduced a suite of AI-enabled tools within Manulife Wealth & Asset Management to enhance investment insights and support decision-making.
Across Asia, the company continues to expand AI-driven capabilities through digital underwriting and claims management, AI Assistants for distribution partners, and more personalized customer experiences.
2026 Evident AI Index for Insurance Results
The Evident AI Index for Insurance evaluates AI maturity across 30 of the most prominent insurance companies in North America and Europe. The index measures progress across four key categories: Talent, Innovation, Leadership, and Transparency.
This year’s results reflect a significantly higher benchmark across the insurance industry as organizations move beyond capability building and focus on scaled deployment and optimization of artificial intelligence.
Manulife ranked first in the Leadership pillar and achieved strong scores in Transparency. Evident cited the company’s consistent executive engagement, industry influence, and transparent approach as key strengths contributing to its performance.
Leadership Recognition and Responsible AI Approach
“This recognition reflects the depth of AI integration across Manulife and the deliberate way we are scaling its impact,” said Jodie Wallis, Global Chief AI Officer, Manulife. “Our focus is on practical, responsible applications of AI that deliver measurable outcomes, underpinned by strong governance that is increasingly automated and embedded into how AI is developed and used. Being recognized among industry leaders in AI maturity reflects the sustained progress our teams are making as we evolve from adoption to consistent, enterprise-wide execution.”
Evident also highlighted Manulife’s long-term commitment to building AI capabilities throughout the organization.
“Manulife ranks first amongst life insurers in the Evident AI Index for Insurance for the second year running, reflecting its ability to build AI capability around the workflows that matter most,” said Alexandra Mousavizadeh, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Evident. “Manulife shows a deliberate approach towards building AI capacity, growing the AI talent pool by 41% year-on-year, embedding a scalable architecture, and using AI to deliver improvements in access, conversation and long-term customer relationships. Being amongst a very small number of insurers to publish both realized and projected returns at the company level demonstrates Manulife’s robust internal methodologies.”
Advancing an AI-Powered Organization
These results demonstrate the consistency and scale with which Manulife is putting artificial intelligence into practice across the enterprise. Guided by its refreshed Enterprise Strategy and Responsible AI Principles, the company is embedding AI into day-to-day work to simplify processes, improve decision-making, and deliver better outcomes for customers, advisors, and colleagues.
The recognition from the 2026 Evident AI Index for Insurance reinforces Manulife’s position as a leader in AI maturity within the insurance industry. Through responsible deployment, governance, and enterprise-wide integration, the company continues to expand the role of artificial intelligence in driving innovation and operational efficiency across its global business.
To learn more about Manulife’s approach to artificial intelligence, visit manulife.com/AI.
The full 2026 Evident AI Insurance Index report and methodology are available at evidentinsights.com.
