The Maritime Life Assurance Company was a Canadian insurance company based in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. It was founded in 1922 and in 2004 it became fully integrated with

Manulife Financial Manulife Financial Corporation (also known as Financière Manuvie in Quebec) is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulife" an ...

, with the Maritime Life brand being retired. In 2004 it had 2700 employee

The Maritime Life headquarters was located in

Armdale, Nova Scotia Armdale is a neighbourhood of the community of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. History Prior to European colonization, the Mi'kmaq inhabited these lands for thousands of years. When Europeans began colonizing the land surrounding Halifax Harbour ...

(part of Halifax) near the head of the

Northwest Arm The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. Geography Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...

. After the merger with Manulife Financial, the signage of the building was changed accordingly and the facility became Manulife's central Halifax office.

History

Maritime Life was co-founded in 1922 by 9 residents of Nova Scotia. At the time of its founding, the company ranked 58th out of 60 insurance companies in Canad

One of the company's founders was The Hon.

William Anderson Black William Anderson Black, (October 9, 1847 – September 1, 1934) was a Canadian politician. He is the oldest person ever elected to the House of Commons of Canada, 76 years, 1 month, 26 days when he was first elected. He was 83 when he last ...

, who was later was elected as the member of Parliament for Halifax, from 1923 until his death in 1934. Incidentally, the last president of Maritime Life, prior to the amalgamation with Manulife Financial, was his great-grandson William "Bill" Black. In his grandfather's tradition, Bill Black ran for the leadership of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia (formerly Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia), is a moderate political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been historically as ...

, but lost to Rodney MacDonald. His election bid for MLA, in the

Halifax Citadel Citadel Hill is a hill that is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the English in 1749, and were referred to as Fort George—but only ...

riding in 2006, was also unsuccessful. In 1924, Maritime Life wrote its first policies and by 1933 had surpassed $1 million in assets, with that figure doubling two years later. In 1956 the company spread outside of Atlantic Canada, with a branch opening in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. Within three years, additional branches were opened in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, as well as in the smaller centres of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

in Ontario. By the early 1960s, Maritime Life was one of the fastest growing insurance companies in Canada and it acquired The Royal Guardians insurance company of Montreal in 1961. Total assets for the growing company were $18.8 million. In 1969, the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston, Massachusetts purchased Maritime Life, making the company its primary Canadian subsidiary. That same year, Maritime Life won a major contract, providing insurance services for personnel of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

. In 1973, the company moved into a distinctive new headquarters in Halifax's Armdale neighbourhood. By the end of the decade, Maritime Life had expanded across Canada, with offices in most major centres. By 1982, the company had approximately $1 billion in assets and in 1986, it ranked 17th out of 150 insurance companies in Canada. By 1993, it had $3.2 billion in assets, with that figure growing to $4.3 billion within two years. In 1995, Maritime Life acquired

Confederation Life Confederation Life Insurance Company, also known as Confederation Life, was a major Canada, Canadian insurance company and financial services provider. Its global head office was located in Toronto in what is now the Rogers Building (Toronto), Rog ...

. In 1997, the company celebrated its 75th anniversary, with $5.5 billion in assets. In 1999, the company doubled in size, with the purchase of

Aetna Life Insurance Company Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans ...

. In 2001, Maritime Life purchased Royal & SunAlliance Life Insurance Company, with total assets for the company approaching $13.5 billion and net income exceeding $100 million. In 2003 it acquired the insurance business of Liberty Health and in 2004, for the fifth consecutive year, it was recognized as one of "The 50 Best Employers in Canada" as ranked by ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''s

Report on Business ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it f ...

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On September 29, 2003, Manulife Financial Corporation, Manulife announced its intent to acquire John Hancock Financial, including Maritime Life, for $15 billion.

References

{{reflist Financial services companies established in 1922 Companies based in Halifax, Nova Scotia Defunct insurance companies of Canada 1922 establishments in Nova Scotia 2004 disestablishments in Nova Scotia Canadian companies disestablished in 2004 Financial services companies disestablished in 2004 Canadian companies established in 1922 2004 mergers and acquisitions