If you wanted to label a life insurer in the independent space as “white shoe,” you’d be hard pressed to find a better example than John Hancock. They have a practically telepathic understanding of their distributors and consistently deliver competitive, innovative and purposeful products. You can imagine, therefore, that Hancock has been a little annoyed about their inability to get a toehold in the fast-growing Indexed UL segment. Looking at 2016 IUL sales numbers, John Hancock was punching well below its weight and competing with companies half its size, a third of its clout and a tenth of its distribution force.