Manulife Financial has had to postpone plans to modify the way it handles transferring commissions to the agent of record because of feedback from advisors.

On Oct. 19, Manulife announced a new transfer policy that would have allowed insurance contracts to be transferred from one advisor to another at the client's request. The transfer involved both servicing and commission rights. The life renewal override commissions would also be transferred to the new advisor's MGA. The new rule was intended to encourage continuity of service to clients and was originally scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2016.

The new effective date has not been announced, and the rule is being revised in the meantime. "Since October, we have received valuable input from our partners into this process. Based on that input we decided not to proceed at this time. We will be reviewing the input and will be incorporating that feedback into any future direction we take with this initiative," commented Manulife spokesperson Beverley MacLean when contacted by Flashfinance.ca, a sister publication of The Insurance and Investment Journal.