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

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada. It was founded in 1922 and in 2004 it became fully integrated with Manulife Financial, 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. 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, who was later 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, but lost to Rodney MacDonald. His election bid for MLA, in the

Halifax Citadel Citadel Hill is a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the British in 1749, and were referred to as For ...

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, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. Within three years, additional branches were opened in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, as well as in the smaller centres of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and Windsor 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 Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

. 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. 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. 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 Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''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 more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it fall ...

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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 Manulife Financial 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