You have a right to know about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit, and about your rights and options, before the Court decides whether to approve the Settlement.

The Court in charge of this case is the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”), and the case is called Jeffrey Leonard et. al. v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York et. al., Case No. 18-CV-4994 (AKH) (the “Action”). The individuals who sued on behalf of the Class include Plaintiffs Jeffrey Leonard, in his capacity as trustee of The Poplawski 2008 Insurance Trust; Phyllis Poplawski; PBR Partners; Brighton Trustees, LLC, on behalf of and as trustee for Cook Street Master Trust III; Bank of Utah, solely as securities intermediary to Cook Street Master Trust III; Peak Trust Company, AK, on behalf of and as trustee for the Susan L. Ciciora Trust and the Stewart West Indies Trust; and Advance Trust & Life Escrow Services, LTA, as securities intermediary for Life Partners Position Holder Trust. The companies they sued, John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York and John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), and any of their predecessor and successor entities, are called the Defendants.

This lawsuit alleges that John Hancock increased COI ("cost of insurance") rates on certain Performance Universal life insurance policies beginning in 2018 and 2019 unlawfully and in violation of the terms of the policies. The lawsuit further alleges that John Hancock violated certain state statutes for issuing false and misleading illustrations regarding the policies. John Hancock denies these claims; however, both sides have agreed to the Settlement to avoid the cost of further litigation.

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All these people are a class or class members. Bringing a case, such as this one, as a class action allows resolution of many similar claims of persons and entities that might be economically too small to bring in individual actions. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the class.

John Hancock denies that it did anything wrong. However, both sides, with the assistance of an experienced mediator, former Judge James “Jay” C. Francis IV, have agreed to the Settlement. Both sides want to avoid the cost and risk of further litigation. The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or John Hancock. Plaintiffs and their attorneys think the Settlement is in the best interests of the Settlement Class and is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

The Settlement Class consists of current and former owners of any universal life insurance policy issued by John Hancock, or its predecessors, that were subjected to the COI Increase, excluding the Excluded Policies.

Excluded Policies include:

(1) the policies at issue in the following cases: (i) Davydov v. JHNY and JHUSA, 18-cv-09825 (S.D.N.Y.); (ii) Twin Lakes and Lakewood Holdings v. JHNY and JHUSA, 655429/2018 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.); (iii) LSH and Wells Fargo v. JHNY and JHUSA, 19- cv-1009 (S.D.N.Y.); (iv) Lipschitz et al. v. JHNY, 655579/2019 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. ); (v) VICOF II Trust et al. v. JHNY, 19-cv-11093 (S.D.N.Y.); (vi) Wells Fargo v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), 20-cv-5032 (S.D.N.Y.); (vii) Kolel Beth Yechiel Mechil of Tartikov, Inc. v. JHNY and JHUSA, 650452/2021 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.); and (viii) all actions consolidated with (v) pursuant to the Court’s Oct. 14, 2021 Order (19-cv-11093, Dkt. 99).

(2) the following policies, which have previously reached settlements with John Hancock: 94656436, 93706844, 93717346, 93717353, 93717361, 93717379, 93752541, 94265337, 94472578, 93970200, 94270709, 93509370, and 93787802.

If an individual or entity is the owner of both an Excluded Policy and a Class Policy, the owner is included in the Settlement Class with respect to the Class Policy but not with respect to any Excluded Policy. If an owner (such as a securities intermediary or trustee) owns multiple policies on behalf of different principals, that owner may stay in or opt-out of the Settlement Class separately for each principal.

You are the Owner of a Class Policy if you currently have or previously held a direct or indirect ownership interest in any Class Policy.

If you are not sure whether you are a Settlement Class Member, or have any other questions about the Settlement, you should review the Important Documents for more information or call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-877-389-2130.

The Settlement provides both cash and non-cash relief.

Cash Relief: John Hancock will fund up to $123,074,128.32, which is estimated to be approximately 91.25% of the total incremental COI charges collected by John Hancock from Class Policies through August 31, 2021 (the “Settlement Fund”).

Each Final Settlement Class Member will be issued a check for their pro-rata share of the Settlement Fund, after certain expenses have been deducted. At a minimum, the check will be for $100, but in most cases, it will be for a much greater amount.

Specifically, each of the Class Policies has been assigned a dollar amount that is estimated to be approximately 91.25% of the incremental COI charges collected by John Hancock from the specific Class Policy through August 31, 2021 (the “Policy Settlement Amount”). For each Class Policy that validly opts out of this Settlement, the Settlement Fund will be reduced by the Policy Settlement Amount for that Class Policy, resulting in what is called the “Final Settlement Fund.” The Final Settlement Fund will first be used to pay: (1) all settlement administration expenses (excluding certain publication notice expenses); (2) any “Incentive Awards,” which are awards to compensate the named Plaintiffs for efforts they took on behalf of the entire Settlement Class in the litigation, and which are capped at $25,000 per Plaintiff; and (3) any Class Counsel’s Fees and Expenses (which will not exceed one-third of the value of all benefits provided by the Settlement to the Final Settlement Class Members). The remainder of the Final Settlement Fund will be used to pay the Final Settlement Class Members on a pro-rata basis, based on each Class Policy’s share of the total Settlement Fund.

Non-Cash Relief: John Hancock has also agreed not to:

• Raise COI rates on policies covered by the Settlement for a period of five years (the “COI Rate Freeze”) following final approval of this Settlement. In addition, John Hancock has agreed to extend the COI Rate Freeze if it agrees to a longer freeze for an Excluded Policy or for a policy subjected to the COI Increase owned by any member of the Settlement Class that opts out of the Settlement. John Hancock has agreed to extend the COI Rate Freeze so that it is as long as any freeze it agrees to with an opt-out or other policyholder subjected to the COI Increase.
• Seek to cancel, void, rescind, or deny a death claim submitted under the Class Members’ policies or contest the validity of a policy based on:
  • An alleged lack of valid insurable interest under any applicable law or equitable principles; or
  • Any misrepresentation allegedly made on or related to the application for, or otherwise made in applying for the Policy.

More details are included in the Settlement Agreement.

You will automatically receive a payment in the mail if you are entitled to one. The payments will be mailed to the last known address based on John Hancock’s administrative system, after they are run through the National Change of Address database. If you would like your payment to be mailed to a different address, please contact the Settlement Administrator via email or mail and submit an address update.

Payments will be mailed to Settlement Class Members after the Court grants “final approval” to the Settlement and after all appeals are resolved. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It’s always uncertain whether these appeals can be resolved and resolving them can take time. Please be patient.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot sue John Hancock, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against John Hancock about the claims released in this Settlement. It also means that all the decisions by the Court will bind you. The Released Claims and Released Parties are defined in the Settlement Agreement. They describe the legal claims that you give up if you stay in the Settlement. You can read the Settlement Agreement here.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was March 28, 2022 and has passed.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you give up any right to sue John Hancock for the claims that this Settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately. You needed to exclude yourself from this Settlement to continue your own lawsuit, except for claims premised on Excluded Policies, which are already excluded. If you properly excluded yourself from the Settlement, you will not be bound by any orders or judgments entered in the Action relating to the Settlement.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was March 28, 2022 and has passed.

No. You will not get any money from the Settlement if you excluded yourself.

No. The Court has appointed Susman Godfrey L.L.P as Class Counsel. You will not be charged for Class Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will file a motion seeking a fee award not to exceed one-third of the value of all benefits provided by the Settlement to the Final Settlement Class Members, and reimbursement for all of the expenses they incurred or will incur. Class Counsel will also seek an Incentive Award of up to $25,000 for each of the named Plaintiffs, to compensate them for efforts they took on behalf of the entire Settlement Class in the litigation.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was March 28, 2022 and has passed.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement. Excluding yourself from the Settlement is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing on May 17, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. ET, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007-1312.

At the Fairness Hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also consider the application by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of expenses and reasonable Incentive Award payments for Plaintiffs. If there are objections, the Court will consider them at this time. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions that the Court may have, but you may come at your own expense. If you submitted an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you filed and served your written objection on time to the proper addresses, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it’s not necessary.

Yes. You could have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. To do so, you had to send a letter saying that it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear.” Your request needed to state your name, address, and telephone number, as well as the name, address, and telephone number of the person that will appear on your behalf. Your request needed to be filed with the Clerk of the Court and served on Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel no later than March 28, 2022.

Only the Parties, Settlement Class Members, or their counsel may request to appear and be heard at the Fairness Hearing. Persons or entities that opted out may not request to appear and be heard at the Fairness Hearing.

If you do nothing, you will automatically receive a payment and the other non-cash relief from the Settlement. Unless you exclude yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against John Hancock about the legal issues in this case, ever again.

The notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. If you have additional questions, you can visit the Important Documents page on this website or contact the Settlement Administrator:

Hancock COI Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91398
Seattle, WA 98111

info@HancockCOISettlement.com
1-877-389-2130

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE