Form 497 HANCOCK JOHN VARIABLE

John Hancock Variable Life Account V

JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (U.S.A.)

(“John Hancock USA”)

Scheduled Premium Variable Life Insurance Policy

FLEX-V1

Prospectus dated April 25, 2022 (as revised May 23, 2022)

You may choose to allocate your account value to one or more of the options that the policies make available for that purpose. These options include our “variable investment accounts,” where the account value will vary directly with the positive or negative investment experience of underlying investment “portfolios.” To provide you with that investment experience, amounts that you allocate to a variable investment account are held in a corresponding “subaccount” of John Hancock Variable Life Account V (“Separate Account”), and the subaccount invests those amounts exclusively in one of the portfolios.

You may also allocate account value to a “fixed account” that the policy makes available. This prospectus provides detailed information about all such options to which you can allocate your account value.

Please note that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Additional information about certain investment products, including variable life insurance, has been prepared by the SEC’s staff and is available at Investor.gov.

No new FLEX-V1 policies have been issued or offered since 2005. Accordingly, this prospectus does not include information about certain aspects of your policy that are no longer relevant to you because of the length of time your policy has been outstanding. These include, for example, certain information about our policies and procedures in connection with issuing a new policy, as well certain fees or charges that we will no longer deduct from your policy and certain rights you had to cancel or exchange your policy that no longer apply because of the length of time your policy has now been outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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KEY INFORMATION

Important Information You Should Consider About the Policy

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OVERVIEW OF THE POLICY

Purpose

The purpose of the policy is to provide lifetime protection against economic loss due to the death of the insured person, to help you accumulate assets through variable investment and fixed accounts that we make available, and to provide or supplement your retirement income. The policy may be appropriate for persons seeking both life insurance protection and the potential for the accumulation of cash values. However, fees, expenses and tax implications can make variable life insurance unsuitable as a short-term savings vehicle.

Premiums

We call the investments you make in the policy “premiums” or “premium payments.” Premiums are scheduled and payable during the lifetime of the insured person in accordance with our established rules and rates. Premiums are payable at our Service Office on or before the due date specified in the policy, which is the last business day of the policy year.

When you applied for your policy, you chose whether your Required Premiums would be payable on a Level Schedule or on a Modified Schedule. The Modified Schedule differs from the Level Schedule in that, among other things, it provides for a one-time recalculation of the Basic Premium, which can cause the Basic Premium to increase or decrease. The policy owner can request this recalculation, but if not requested within a certain time limit, the recalculation occurs automatically. If this recalculation occurs at a time when the policy’s account value is high enough in relation to benefits being provided under the policy, a decrease in Basic Premium may result, which would also reduce the Required Premium. Otherwise, the recalculation may increase these premiums.

If the Level Schedule was selected, however, you may be able to reduce the Required Premium by exercising the policy’s Basic Premium Reduction Value Option at time when your policy has Excess Value.

You may pay more than the Required Premium during a policy year and may ask to be billed for an amount greater than any Required Premium. You may also pay amounts in addition to any billed amount. However, each premium payment must be at least $25. We reserve the right to limit premium payments above the amount of the cumulative Required Premiums due on the policy. The ability to pay more than the Required Premium provides you with considerable payment flexibility in meeting the premium requirements of the policy. In particular, the payment of more than the Required Premium in an earlier year can be relied upon to satisfy the Required Premium requirements in later years.

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Federal tax law limits the amount of premium payments you can make relative to the amount of your policy’s insurance coverage. We will not knowingly accept any amount by which a premium payment exceeds this limit. If you exceed certain other limits, the law may impose a penalty on amounts you take out of your policy. We’ll monitor your premium payments and let you know if you’re about to exceed this limit. Also, we may refuse to accept any amount of an additional premium if that amount of premium would increase our insurance risk exposure, and the insured person doesn’t provide us with adequate evidence that he or she continues to meet our requirements for issuing insurance. In no event, however, will we refuse to accept any premium necessary to prevent the policy from terminating.

From each premium payment you make, we deduct the applicable premium charges identified in the FEE TABLE. We invest the rest (the “net premium”) in the variable investment account or the fixed account options you’ve elected.

The policy offers a number of variable investment accounts. You can find some important information about each portfolio in the APPENDIX, but for a full description of each portfolio, including the investment objectives and strategies, policies, restrictions, and risks, you should read the portfolio’s prospectus carefully before investing in the corresponding variable investment account. Amounts that you allocate to the fixed account are credited with rates of interest that we declare from time to time but will never be less than a minimum rate guaranteed in your policy specifications.

Policy Features

Death benefit. The “death benefit” payable upon the death of the insured person is the greater of the Guaranteed Death Benefit including any Extra Death Benefit, or the Current Death Benefit (defined below).

The “Guaranteed Death Benefit” at any time is the sum of the Basic Death Benefit and any Extra Death Benefit (defined below). The “Basic Death Benefit” at issue of the policy is the same as the “Sum Insured” at issue shown in the policy. Thereafter the Basic Death Benefit may be reduced by a partial surrender on your request. We guarantee that, regardless of the investment experience of the investment options, the death benefit will never be less than the Guaranteed Death Benefit.

An Extra Death Benefit may be available from time to time on policy anniversaries if there is Excess Value in your policy at that time. In that case, if you exercise the policy’s Extra Death Benefit Option, the amount of Extra Death Benefit produced under that Option becomes a Guaranteed Death Benefit. This Option may be unavailable, however, if the insured person is an extra mortality risk.

The “Current Death Benefit” on any date is the account value on that date times the “Death Benefit Factor” shown in the policy, as discussed more fully below under “Standard Death Benefits — Death Benefit.” Therefore, the Current Death Benefit is variable — that is, it increases as the account value increases and decreases as the account value decreases.

Surrender of the policy. You may surrender the policy in full while the insured person is alive. A “surrender” is when you return your policy to us and, if you do, we will pay you the account value of the policy less any outstanding policy debt. This is called your “surrender value.”

Withdrawals. Under our current administrative rules, you may make a partial withdrawal of your policy’s Excess Value, if any, once in each policy year. Each partial withdrawal must be at least $500. There is a charge for each partial withdrawal. We will automatically reduce the account value of your policy by the amount of the withdrawal and the related charge.

Policy loans. You may borrow from your policy at any time by completing the appropriate form. The minimum amount of each loan is $300. The maximum amount you can borrow is determined by a formula as described in

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your policy. Interest is charged on each loan. You can pay the interest or allow it to become part of the outstanding loan balance. You can repay all or part of a loan at any time. If there is an outstanding loan when the insured person dies, it will be deducted from the death benefit. Policy loans permanently affect the calculation of your account value, and may also result in adverse tax consequences.

Supplementary benefits. When you applied for the policy, you may have requested any of the below-listed available optional supplementary benefit riders, which can vary from state to state. Charges for most riders will be deducted monthly from the policy’s account value.

You can find information about the fees we charge for these riders under “Optional Benefit Charges” in the Fee Table below. We also offer, at no charge, a dollar cost averaging (“DCA”) program and an asset allocation balancer program.

FEE TABLE

The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you will pay when buying, owning and surrendering or making withdrawals from the policy. Please refer to your policy specifications for information about the specific fees you will pay each year based on the options you have elected.

The first table describes the fees and expenses that you will pay at the time that you buy the policy, surrender or make withdrawals from the policy, or transfer account value between investment options.

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(1) This charge applies only if the new Basic Premium after recalculation is less than the Basic Premium on the Level Schedule for the insured person’s age at issue of the policy. This charge is mandatory in that premium recalculation will automatically occur if not requested prior to the later of (i) the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 69th birthday, or (ii) the ninth policy anniversary.

(2) This charge is determined in accordance with our underwriting rules and is assessed if the insured person does not qualify for either the preferred or standard underwriting class. Underwriting classifications are based upon a number of factors, the most important of which is medical history.

(3) This charge is not currently imposed, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.

The next table describes the fees and expenses that you will pay periodically during the time that you own the policy, not including portfolio fees and expenses.

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(1) The “insurance charge” is determined by multiplying the amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the amount at risk or “AAR”) by the applicable cost of insurance rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the Sum Insured, the length of time the policy has been in effect, the insurance risk characteristics of the insured person and (generally) the gender of the insured person. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a $1,000,000 policy issued to cover a 10 year old female preferred non-tobacco underwriting risk. The maximum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a $100,000 policy issued to cover a 99 year old male standard tobacco underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 35 year old male standard non-tobacco underwriting risk with a $100,000 policy. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation, and you can obtain information about the specific charges applicable to you from your John Hancock USA representative.

(2) This charge only applies to separate account assets (i.e., those assets invested in the variable investment accounts). The charge does not apply to the fixed account. The effective annual rate equivalent of the actual unrounded daily rate charged is .60%..

(3) 6.0% is the effective annual interest rate charged in states where the fixed loan interest rate is applicable. In all other states, the loan interest rate is variable and will not be less than 5.0%. The amount of any loan is transferred from the investment options to a special loan account which earns interest at an effective annual rate that is 1% less than the loan interest rate in policy years 1-20 and 0.5% less than the loan interest rate thereafter. Therefore, the true cost of a loan is the difference between the loan interest we charge and the interest we credit to the special loan account.

(4) “YRT” stands for “Yearly Renewable Term.” The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the amount of insurance under the rider by the applicable cost of insurance rate for the rider. The rates vary widely depending upon the amount of YRT coverage and the insurance risk characteristics and gender of the person insured under the rider. The minimum rate shown is the rate for a rider with $1,000,000 of coverage insuring a 0 year old female preferred underwriting risk. The maximum rate shown is the rate for a rider with $100,000 of coverage insuring a 99 year old male standard tobacco underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate

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shown is for a 35 year old male standard non-tobacco underwriting risk with $100,000 of rider coverage. If the Disability Payment of Premium Rider is also elected, the charge for this rider will be increased by 54%. If the person covered under this rider is rated substandard, there will be an extra charge for this rider of up to $116.04 per $1,000 of YRT death benefit. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation, and you can obtain information about the specific charges applicable to you from your John Hancock USA representative.

(5) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the AAR by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the issue age and the insurance risk characteristics of the insured person. The minimum rate shown is for a 20 year old male tobacco underwriting risk. The maximum rate shown is for an 85 year old female preferred non tobacco underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 35 year old male standard non-tobacco underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation, and you can obtain information about the specific charges applicable to you from your John Hancock USA representative.

(6) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the current Sum Insured under the policy by the applicable rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the age and rider underwriting rating of the insured person. The minimum rate shown is for a 0-3 year old insured person with a standard rider rating. The maximum rate shown is for a 57-58 year old insured person with the maximum substandard rider rating. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 35 year old with a standard rider rating. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation, and you can obtain information about the specific charges applicable to you from your John Hancock USA representative.

(7) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the total Required Premium for the base policy and the charges for all other riders by the applicable rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the age of the applicant and the age of the insured person. The minimum rate shown is for an 18 year old applicant and a 0 year old insured person. The maximum rate shown is for a 50 year old applicant and a 14 year old insured person. The representative applicant and insured person rate shown are for a 35 and a 0 years old, respectively. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation, and you can obtain information about the specific charges applicable to you from your John Hancock USA representative.

(8) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the term death benefit under the rider by the applicable rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the age and gender of the person insured under the rider. The minimum rate shown is for a 20 year-old female. The maximum rate shown is for a 64 year old male. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 35 year old male. These not be particularly relevant to your current situation, and you can obtain information about the specific charges applicable to you from your John Hancock USA representative.

The next item shows the minimum and maximum total operating expenses charged by the portfolios that you may pay periodically during the time that you own the policy. A complete list of the portfolios available under the policy, including their annual expenses, may be found at the back of this document.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE POLICY

Policy Rights

Owner and beneficiary. The owner of the policy is the person who can exercise most of the rights under the policy, such as the right to choose the accounts in which to invest or the right to surrender the policy. In many cases, the person buying the policy is also the person who will be the owner. However, the application for a

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policy can name another person or entity (such as a trust) as owner. It is possible to name so-called “joint owners” of the policy. If more than one person owns a policy, all owners must join in most requests to exercise rights under the policy. Whenever we’ve used the term “you” in this prospectus, we’ve assumed that the reader is the person who has whatever right or privilege is being discussed. There may be tax consequences if the owner and the insured person are different, so you should discuss this issue with your tax adviser.

While the insured person is alive, you will have a number of options under the policy. These options include:

You name your beneficiary when you apply for the policy. The beneficiary is entitled to the proceeds we pay following the insured person’s death. Until the death of the insured person, you can change your beneficiary by written request. Such a change requires the consent of any named irrevocable beneficiary. A new beneficiary designation will not affect any payments we make before we receive it. If no beneficiary is living when the insured person dies, we will pay the insurance proceeds to the owner or the owner’s estate.

Allocation of Premiums

Premium payments generally will be allocated among the variable investment or fixed account as of the business day on or next following the date they are received at the Service Office. By written request and at any time, you may change the variable investment accounts or fixed account in which future premium payments will be invested. You made the original allocation in the application for the policy. The percentages you select must be in whole numbers and must total 100%.

Whether through the allocation of premium or through the transfer of existing account value, you can never be invested in more than ten investment options at any one time.

Transfers of Account Value

You may also transfer your existing account value from one variable investment or fixed account option to another. To do so, you must tell us how much to transfer, either as a whole number percentage or as a specific dollar amount. A confirmation of each transfer will be sent to you.

We have adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent transfers of account value among variable investment accounts.

Limitations on transfers to or from a variable investment account. Our current practice is to restrict transfers into or out of variable investment accounts to two per calendar month (except with respect to those policies described in the following paragraphs). For purposes of this restriction, and in applying the limitation on the number of free transfers, any transfers made during the period from the opening of a business day (usually 9:00 a.m. Eastern time) to the close of that business day (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) are considered one transfer. You may, however, transfer to the Money Market variable investment account even if the two transfers per month limit has been reached, but only if 100% of the account value in all variable investment accounts is

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transferred to the Money Market variable investment account. If such a transfer to the Money Market variable investment account is made, then for the 30 calendar day period after such transfer no transfers from the Money Market variable investment account to any other variable investment account or any fixed account may be made. If your policy offers a dollar cost averaging or automatic asset allocation rebalancing program, any transfers pursuant to such program are not considered transfers subject to these restrictions on frequent trading.

Policies such as yours may be purchased by a corporation or other entity as a means to informally finance the liabilities created by an employee benefit plan, and to this end the entity may aggregately manage the policies purchased to match its liabilities under the plan. Policies sold under these circumstances are subject to special transfer restrictions. In lieu of the two transfers per month restriction, we will allow the policy owner under these circumstances to rebalance the variable investment options in its policies within the following limits: (i) during the 10 calendar day period after any account values are transferred from one variable investment option into a second variable investment option, the values can only be transferred out of the second variable investment option if they are transferred into the Money Market variable investment option; and (ii) any account values that would otherwise not be transferable by application of the 10 day limit described above and that are transferred into the Money Market variable investment option may not be transferred out of the Money Market variable investment option into any other variable investment option or any fixed account for 30 calendar days.

Subject to our approval, we may offer policies purchased by a corporation or other entity that has purchased policies to match its liabilities under an employee benefit plan, as described above, the ability to electronically rebalance the variable investment accounts in its policies. Under these circumstances, in lieu of imposing any specific limit upon the number and timing of transfers, we will monitor aggregate trades among the subaccounts for frequency, pattern and size for potentially harmful investment practices. If we detect trading activity that we believe may be harmful to the overall operation of any variable investment account or portfolio, we may impose conditions on policies employing electronic rebalancing to submit trades, including setting limits upon the number and timing of transfers, and revoking privileges to make trades by any means other than written communication submitted via U.S. mail. While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive frequent trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so. Therefore no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive frequent trading and avoiding harm to long-term investors.

We will apply these limitations uniformly to each class of policies.

Frequent transfers among variable investment accounts. Variable investment accounts in variable life insurance products can be a prime target for abusive transfer activity because these products value their variable investment accounts on a daily basis and allow transfers among variable investment accounts without immediate tax consequences. As a result, some investors may seek to frequently transfer into and out of variable investment accounts or to make large transfers in reaction to market news or to exploit a perceived pricing inefficiency. Whatever the reason, long-term investors in any variable investment account can be harmed by large or frequent transfer activity. For example, such activity may expose the variable investment account’s portfolio to increased portfolio transaction costs and/or disrupt the portfolio manager’s ability to effectively manage the portfolio’s investments in accordance with the portfolio’s investment objectives and policies. This could include causing the portfolio to maintain higher levels of cash than would otherwise be the case, or liquidating investments prematurely. Accordingly, frequent or large transfers may result in dilution with respect to interests held for long-term investment and adversely affect policy owners, beneficiaries and the portfolios.

To discourage market timing and disruptive trading activity, we impose restrictions on transfers and reserve the right to change, suspend or terminate telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges. We also reserve the right to impose a fee for any transfer beyond an annual limit (which would be four or more).

While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so. Therefore, no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive trading and avoiding harm to long-term investors.

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Limitations on transfers out of the fixed account. Transfers out of the fixed account option are currently subject to the following restrictions:

We reserve the right to impose a minimum amount limit on transfers out of the fixed investment option.

Potential additional limitations. We reserve the right to take other actions to restrict transfers, including, but not limited to: (i) restricting the number of transfers made during a defined period, (ii) restricting the dollar amount of transfers, (iii) restricting transfers into and out of certain variable investment options, (iv) restricting the method used to submit transfers, and (v) deferring a transfer at any time we are unable to purchase or redeem shares of the portfolio. We may also impose additional administrative conditions upon or prohibit a transfer request made by a third party giving instructions on behalf of multiple policies, whether owned by the same owner or different owners. If you engage a third party for asset allocation services, then you may be subject to these transfer restrictions because of the actions of that party in providing those services. We will notify the third party you have engaged if we exercise this right. A portfolio also may require us to impose additional trading restrictions if violations of its policies against frequent or disruptive trading in its shares are discovered.

Dollar cost averaging and asset allocation balancer programs. We may offer policy owners a dollar cost averaging (“DCA”) program. Under the DCA program, you will designate an amount that will be transferred monthly from one variable investment option into any other variable investment option or a fixed account. If insufficient funds exist to effect a DCA transfer, the transfer will not be effected and you will be so notified. Under the asset allocation balancer program you will designate an allocation of account value among variable investment options. We will move amounts among the variable investment options at specified intervals you select - annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. A change to your premium allocation instructions will automatically result in a change in asset allocation balancer instructions so that the two are identical unless you either instruct us otherwise or have elected the dollar cost averaging program. This asset allocation balancer program only applies to account value in the variable investment options. No fee is charged for these programs. We reserve the right to cease to offer these programs as of 90 days after written notice is sent to you.

General Account

Our obligations under the policy’s fixed account are backed by our general account assets. Our general account consists of all assets owned by us other than those in the Separate Account and any other separate accounts which we have established and may establish. Any interest credited to a policy owner from an investment in a fixed investment option will be paid from the Company’s general account and will be subject to the Company’s financial strength and claims paying ability. Subject to applicable law, John Hancock USA has sole discretion over the investment of the assets of the general account and policy owners do not share in the investment experience of, or have any preferential claim on, those assets. Instead, we guarantee that the account value allocated to the fixed investment option will accrue interest daily at an effective annual rate of at least 4% without regard to the actual investment experience of the general account.

Because of exemptive and exclusionary provisions, interests in our fixed investment option have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and our general account has not been registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”). Accordingly, neither the general account nor any interests therein are subject to the provisions of these acts. Disclosures regarding the general account, however, are subject generally to applicable provisions of federal securities laws relating to the accuracy and completeness of statements made in the prospectus.

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The fixed account. Account value allocated to any fixed account will accrue interest daily at an effective annual rate that we determine and that depends on a number of significant considerations in addition to the actual investment experience we expect for the general account. The policies currently offer only one fixed account, but we reserve the right to offer one or more additional fixed accounts with characteristics differ from the current fixed account. Any interest we credit in excess of the guaranteed interest crediting rate will be based on our sole discretion. Additionally, there may be extended periods of time during which no interest above the guaranteed minimum is declared.

PREMIUMS

Purchase Procedures

Generally, the policy was available with a minimum Sum Insured at issue of $25,000 for insured persons with an attained age of less than 25 at the time of policy issue, and $50,000 for insured persons with attained ages of 25 through 75 at the time of policy issue.

Policies issued in Montana or in connection with certain employee do not directly reflect the sex of the insured person in either the premium rates or the charges or values under the policy.

Premium Payments

We call the investments you make in the policy “premiums” or “premium payments.” Premiums are scheduled and payable during the lifetime of the insured person in accordance with our established rules and rates. Premiums are payable at our Service Office on or before the due date specified in the policy, which is the last business day of the policy year.

You may pay more than the Required Premium during a policy year and may ask to be billed for an amount greater than any Required Premium. You may also pay amounts in addition to any billed amount. However, each premium payment must be at least $25. We reserve the right to limit premium payments above the amount of the cumulative Required Premiums due on the policy.

The ability to pay more than the Required Premium provides you with considerable payment flexibility in meeting the premium requirements of the policy. Consider a policy with a $1,000 Required Premium and where you pay $1,250 in each of the first eight policy years. If none of the additional premium of $2,000 is applied under a “Value Option” (discussed below under “Additional Information About Standard Death Benefits —Excess Value”), the policy will remain in force for at least ten years without any further premium payments. During each of these ten years, the premium received ($1,250 a year for eight years) at least equals the aggregate Required Premiums ($1,000 a year for 10 years) on the scheduled due dates. In other words, the payment of more than the Required Premium in a year can be relied upon to satisfy the Required Premium requirements in later years. If, however, you were to apply $500 of the additional premium to a Value Option, then only $1,500 would remain to meet Required Premiums. The policy would remain in force for at least 9 years but a payment of $500 may be necessary by the end of the tenth policy year to keep the policy in force.

Maximum premium payments. Federal tax law limits the amount of premium payments you can make relative to the amount of your policy’s insurance coverage. We will not knowingly accept any amount by which a premium payment exceeds the maximum. If you exceed certain other limits, the law may impose a penalty on amounts you take out of your policy. We’ll monitor your premium payments and let you know if you’re about to exceed this limit.

Also, we may refuse to accept any amount of an additional premium if that amount of premium would increase our insurance risk exposure, and the insured person doesn’t provide us with adequate evidence that he or she continues to meet our requirements for issuing insurance. In no event, however, will we refuse to accept any premium necessary to prevent the policy from terminating.

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Ways to pay premiums. If you pay premiums by check or money order, they must be drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars and made payable to “John Hancock Life.” We will not accept credit card checks. We will not accept starter or third party checks if they fail to satisfy our administrative requirements. Premiums after the first must be sent to our Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover of this prospectus.

We will also accept premiums:

You can obtain information on these other methods of premium payment by contacting your John Hancock USA representative or by contacting our Service Office.

Minimum premium requirements. An amount of Required Premium is determined at the start of each policy year. Generally, the full amount of Required Premium must be paid by the last scheduled due date of the policy year.

Premium requirements are met by premium payments on a cumulative basis. This means that, for example, you can make early payments of Required Premiums for future years, subject to certain limits.

Generally, we count all premiums received when we determine whether the premium requirement is met on a scheduled due date. This cumulative amount of premiums received is reduced for this purpose by amounts withdrawn from the premium component of Excess Value and amounts applied from the premium component to any Value Option other than the Accumulate Option. The premium requirement will also be deemed satisfied on the last business day of the second or any later policy year if any Excess Value is available on the scheduled due date.

Failure to satisfy a premium requirement on a scheduled due date may cause the policy to terminate.

Choice of premium schedule. At the time of application, you selected either a Level Schedule or a Modified Schedule as the basis for the Basic Premium on the policy. Under the Level Schedule, the Basic Premium will never increase during the lifetime of the insured person. With the Level Schedule, the Basic Premium is completely insulated from any adverse investment performance. If the Modified Schedule is chosen, the Basic Premium is initially lower than under the Level Schedule. However, a premium recalculation (described below) must occur no later than the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 72nd birthday. At the time of the premium recalculation, we determine a new Basic Premium which is payable through the remaining lifetime of the insured person.

A comparison of the Basic Premiums at issue under the Level and Modified Schedules for a Sum Insured at issue of $100,000 for a male is shown below:

Required Premium. The Required Premium determined at the start of each policy year equals an amount for the Basic Death Benefit (“Basic Premium”) or $300 if the annual Basic Premium is less than $300, plus any additional premium for extra mortality risk or supplementary benefit riders that have been purchased. The Basic Premium is a level amount that does not change if the Level Schedule is selected. If the Modified Schedule is selected, the Basic Premium does not change until the premium recalculation occurs.

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If the account value on the business day immediately preceding the policy anniversary, when multiplied by the Death Benefit Factor on that policy anniversary, is equal to or greater than the Guaranteed Death Benefit, then no Required Premium is applicable to the following policy year. This means that even if no premium is paid during the policy year, the premium requirement will be met on the scheduled due date at the end of the policy year. If applicable, we will mail a written notice to you within 10 days after any policy anniversary stating that no premium payment is required in that policy year.

Lapse. Any amount of premium required to keep the policy in force is in default if not paid on or before its scheduled due date, but the policy provides a 61-day grace period for the payment of each such amount. If your policy enters a grace period, we will notify you of how much you will need to pay to keep the policy in force. If you don’t pay at least the required amount by the end of the grace period, your policy will terminate (i.e., lapse) See “Lapse and Reinstatement.”

Premium recalculation. You may elect the premium recalculation applicable to any policy on a Modified Schedule at any time up to the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 72nd birthday. If elected, the premium recalculation will be effected on the policy anniversary next following receipt at our Service Office of satisfactory written notice. If not elected sooner, we will effect the premium recalculation on the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 72nd birthday.

The new Basic Premium resulting from a premium recalculation may be less than, equal to or greater than the original Basic Premium but it will never exceed the maximum Basic Premium shown in the policy. The new Basic Premium depends on the insured person’s sex and age, the Guaranteed Death Benefit under the policy and the account value on the business day immediately preceding the date of the premium recalculation.

A charge will be made if the new Basic Premium is below the Basic Premium on the Level Schedule for the insured person’s age at issue of the policy. The charge will not exceed 3% of the amount of account value applied by us to reduce the new Basic Premium to an amount below the Basic Premium which would have been payable on the Level Schedule for the insured person’s age at issue.

Processing premium payments. We will process any premium payment as of the day we receive it, unless one of the following exceptions applies:

(1) If you pay a sufficient premium to take your policy out of a grace period, the portion of such premium that equals the overdue Required Premium will be processed as of that Required Premium’s due date.

(2) We will process the portion of any premium payment for which we require evidence of the insured person’s continued insurability only after we have received such evidence and found it satisfactory to us.

(3) If we receive any premium payment that we think will cause a policy to become a “modified endowment” (as discussed below under “Tax Consequences of Owning a Policy”) or will cause a policy to lose its status as life insurance under the tax laws, we will not accept the excess portion of that premium payment and will immediately notify the owner. We will refund the excess premium when the premium payment check has had time to clear the banking system (but in no case more than two weeks after receipt), except in the following circumstances:

In the above cases, we will treat the excess premium as having been received on the date the tax problem resolves itself or the date we receive the signed acknowledgment. We will then process it accordingly.

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(4) If a premium payment is received or is otherwise scheduled to be processed (as specified above) on a date that is not a business day, the premium payment will be processed on the business day next following that date.

STANDARD DEATH BENEFITS

Standard Death Benefits

Death benefit. The death benefit payable upon the death of the insured person is the greater of the Guaranteed Death Benefit, including any Extra Death Benefit, or the Current Death Benefit.

The Guaranteed Death Benefit at any time is the sum of the Basic Death Benefit and any Extra Death Benefit. The Basic Death Benefit at issue of the policy is the same as the Sum Insured at issue shown in the policy. Thereafter the Basic Death Benefit may be reduced by a partial surrender on your request. We guarantee that, regardless of the investment experience of the investment options, the death benefit will never be less than the Guaranteed Death Benefit.

An Extra Death Benefit may be available from time to time on policy anniversaries. If you exercise the policy’s Extra Death Benefit Value Option on a policy anniversary, the amount of Extra Death Benefit produced under the Option becomes a Guaranteed Death Benefit. The amount of any Extra Death Benefit depends upon the account value, Benchmark Value and the sex and age of the insured person on the policy anniversary as of which the Option is exercised. (“Benchmark Value” is a measure of the amount necessary to support your policy’s benefits at any time, as more fully discussed below under “Additional Information About Standard Death Benefits — Excess Value.”) The insured person’s age on a policy anniversary is the age of the insured person on his or her birthday nearest that date.

The Current Death Benefit on any date is the account value on that date times the Death Benefit Factor shown in the policy. The Death Benefit Factor depends upon the sex and the then attained age of the insured person. The Death Benefit Factor decreases from year to year as the attained age of the insured person increases. For example, the Death Benefit Factor for a male age 75 is 1.3546, and for a male age 76 is 1.3325. A complete list of Death Benefit Factors is set forth in the policy. The Current Death Benefit is variable — that is it increases as the account value increases and decreases as the account value decreases.

Poor investment performance of the portfolios, expenses, and deduction of charges under the policy all will reduce the account value and net cash surrender value and may also reduce the death benefit. However, favorable investment performance may increase the account value, net cash surrender value, and death benefit. Therefore, if you experience better investment performance or lower expenses and charges than you assumed, you may be able to reduce your premium payments while maintaining the death benefit and other values under your policy; or if you continue to pay premiums at the same level, the death benefit and other values under your policy may increase. Conversely, if the investment performance falls short of what you assumed, or the expenses or charges are higher, the death benefit and other values under your policy may decrease unless you pay additional premiums.

Change of Sum Insured. You may request a decrease in your Sum Insured at any time, subject to our administrative rules in effect at the time. If approved, any such decrease will be effective on the monthly processing date next following our receipt of the request.

Under our current administrative rules, you cannot request an increase in your Sum Insured.

Calculation and payment of the death benefit. We will ordinarily pay any death benefit within seven days after we receive the last required form or request and any other documentation that may be required. You may choose to receive proceeds from the policy as a single sum. If we do not have information about the desired manner of payment within seven days after the date we receive documentation of the insured person’s death, we will pay the

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proceeds as a single sum. As permitted by state law and our current administrative procedures, death claim proceeds may be placed into an interest-bearing John Hancock retained asset account in the beneficiary’s name. The interest earned in a John Hancock retained asset account is normally subject to income tax. You should consult with your tax advisor if you have any questions regarding taxation of the interest earned. We will provide the beneficiary with a checkbook, so checks may be written for all or a part of the proceeds. The retained asset account is part of our general account and is subject to the claims of our creditors. It is not a bank account and it is not insured by the FDIC. We may receive a benefit from managing proceeds held in a retained asset account.

Additional Information About Standard Death Benefits

Excess Value. As of the last business day in each policy year, we compare the account value of the policy against the “Benchmark Value” (described below) to determine if any “Excess Value” exists under the policy. Excess Value is any amount of account value greater than the Benchmark Value. If you wish to know the amount of Excess Value at any time, just contact our Service Office.

Benchmark Value can be thought of as what the guaranteed cash value would be under an otherwise comparable non-variable whole life policy. It is the amount we deem necessary to support your policy’s benefits at any time based on accepted actuarial methods and assumptions.

The Benchmark Value depends upon the policy’s Guaranteed Death Benefit, the Required Premium, any outstanding loan, and the sex and attained age of the insured person. The formula describing precisely how Benchmark Value is calculated on each policy anniversary is set forth in the policy. In general, the Benchmark Value increases as more guarantees are provided in the policy, either in the form of higher Guaranteed Death Benefits or lower premiums. If there is a loan outstanding, the Benchmark Value will not be less than 110% of the outstanding loan amount. The Benchmark Value generally increases over the life of the policy, as the attained age of the insured person increases.

Excess Value may arise from two sources. The “premium component” is that portion of Excess Value up to the amount by which the cumulative premiums paid (excluding amounts from this component previously withdrawn) exceed the cumulative amount of Required Premiums due to date. The “experience component” is that portion of Excess Value above the premium component and arises out of favorable investment experience or lower than maximum insurance and expense charges.

If Excess Value is available on a policy anniversary, any premium component and experience component will be applied under Value Options you elect. Either component may be applied to any available Value Option. The amounts to be applied will be determined in accordance with your election and in accordance with our then current rules. A change in an election will be effective as of the policy anniversary next following its date of receipt in writing at our Service Office or, if subject to underwriting rules, its date of approval. Any change in election does not affect amounts previously applied under any Value Option.

The policy includes three “Value Options”:

The Accumulate Option leaves any Excess Value in the account value and does not affect the guarantees under the policy. The Accumulate Option is available on both premium schedules and no limit is placed on the amount that may be applied from either the premium component or the experience component.

The Extra Death Benefit Option increases the amount of Guaranteed Death Benefit. The Extra Death Benefit Option is available on both premium schedules. No limit is placed on the amount that may be applied from the experience component. The amount that may be applied from the premium component is limited to an amount that depends upon the Sum Insured at issue and the insured person’s age at issue of the policy. Amounts applied from the premium component reduce the cumulative amount of premiums received under the policy for purposes of determining whether the policy will continue to remain in force. A guaranteed death benefit charge is made against the account value to cover the risk assumed by us in providing the increased Guaranteed Death Benefit. The Extra Death Benefit Value Option may not be available if the insured person is an extra mortality risk.

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The increase in Guaranteed Death Benefit equals the amount applied less the guaranteed death benefit charge times the Death Benefit Factor shown in the policy. An increase in the Guaranteed Death Benefit may increase our AAR (amount at risk) under the policy, which would increase the amount of the insurance charge. See “Deductions from account value”. You may decrease the amount of any Extra Death Benefit on the policy. Depending upon the amount of account value under a policy, a decrease may result in an amount of Excess Value, which you may take as a partial withdrawal. Any decrease is effective at the end of the business day in which we receive written notice of the request.

The Basic Premium Reduction Option permanently decreases the amount of the Basic Premium that would otherwise have to be paid in a policy year to avoid a lapse at the end of the year. The Basic Premium Reduction Option is available only on the Level Schedule. No limit is currently placed on the amount that may be applied from either component except that the Basic Premium may not be reduced below zero. Amounts applied from the premium component reduce the cumulative amounts of premiums received under the policy for purposes of determining whether the policy will continue to remain in force. A guaranteed death benefit charge is made against the account value to cover the risk assumed by us that the Guaranteed Death Benefit will remain in effect notwithstanding the lower future premiums. The reduction in Basic Premium equals the amount applied, less the guaranteed death benefit charge, divided by the “Premium Credit Factor” shown in the policy. The Premium Credit Factor depends upon the sex and the then attained age of the insured person. The Premium Credit Factor decreases from year to year as the attained age of the insured person increases. For example, the Premium Credit Factor for a female age 60 is 13.6798, and for a female age 61 is 13.3382.

Changing your insurance coverage under the policy can have possible tax consequences.

Limitations on payment of death benefit. If the insured person commits suicide within certain time periods (generally within two years from the Issue Date of the policy), the amount payable will be equal to the premiums paid, less the amount of any policy debt on the date of death, and less any withdrawals. Also if an application misstated the age or sex of the insured person, we will adjust, if necessary, the benefit to that which would have been purchased at the correct age or sex by the most recent insurance charges or as otherwise provided by your policy.

SURRENDERS AND WITHDRAWALS

You may surrender your policy in full at any time. If you do, we will pay you the account value, less any unpaid charges and policy debt. This is called your “surrender value.” You must return your policy when you request a full surrender.

You may partially surrender your policy upon submission of a written request satisfactory to us in accordance with our rules. Currently, the policy after partial surrender must have a Sum Insured at least as large as the minimum amount for which we would issue a policy on the life of the insured person. The Guaranteed Death Benefit for the policy will be adjusted to prospectively reflect the new Sum Insured. A pro-rata portion of the account value will be paid to you. Possible alternatives to the partial surrender of the policy would be withdrawal of some or all of any Excess Value or taking a policy loan.

Under our current administrative rules, you may make a partial withdrawal of your policy’s Excess Value, if any, once in each policy year. Each partial withdrawal must be at least $500. There is a charge for each partial withdrawal. We will automatically reduce the account value of your policy by the amount of the withdrawal and the related charge. Each investment option will be reduced in the same proportion as the account value is then allocated among them. Unless the Current Death Benefit exceeds the Guaranteed Death Benefit, a partial withdrawal will not affect the death benefit payable.

Amounts withdrawn from the premium component of Excess Value reduce the cumulative amount of premiums received for purposes of determining whether the premium requirements of the policy have been met. On a

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Modified Schedule, because the account value is reduced by a partial withdrawal, the premium that results from the premium recalculation will be higher because of the partial withdrawal.

LOANS

Availability of Loans, Limitations and Interest

You may borrow from your policy by completing a form satisfactory to us or, if the telephone transaction authorization form has been completed, by telephone. The minimum amount of each loan is $300, unless the loan is used to pay premiums. The maximum amount you can borrow is equal to 100% of that portion of your surrender value that is attributable to the fixed account plus 90% of that portion of your surrender value that is attributable to the variable investment accounts

Interest charged on any loan will accrue daily at an annual rate determined by John Hancock at the start of each policy year. This interest rate will not exceed the greater of (1) the “Published Monthly Average” (defined below) for the calendar month ending 2 months before the calendar month of the policy anniversary or (2) 5%. In jurisdictions where a fixed loan rate is applicable, we will charge interest at an effective annual rate of 6%. The “Published Monthly Average” means Moody’s Corporate Bond Yield Average — Monthly Average Corporates, as published by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., or if the average is no longer published, a substantially similar average established by the insurance regulator where the policy is issued. Accrued interest will be added to the loan daily and will bear interest at the same rate as the original loan amount.

The amount of the loan is deducted from the investment options in the same proportion as the account value is then allocated among them and is placed in a special loan account. This special loan account will earn interest at a rate that is 1% less than the loan interest rate for the first 20 Policy years and .5% less than the loan interest rate thereafter. The tax consequences of a loan interest credited differential of 0% are unclear. You should consult a tax adviser before effecting a loan to evaluate possible tax consequences. If we determine that a loan will be treated as a taxable distribution because of the differential between the loan interest rate and the rate being credited on the special loan account, we reserve the right to decrease the rate credited on the special loan account to a rate that would, in our reasonable judgement, result in the transaction being treated as a loan under Federal tax law. The right to increase the rate charged on the loan is restricted in some states. Please see your John Hancock USA representative for details.

Loan Repayments

You can repay all or part of a loan at any time. Each repayment will be allocated among the investment options as follows:

If you want a payment to be used as a loan repayment, you must include instructions to that effect. Otherwise, all payments will be assumed to be premium payments. Policy loans may result in adverse tax consequences under certain circumstances.

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OTHER BENEFITS AVAILABLE UNDER THE POLICY

In addition to the standard death benefits associated with your policy, other standard and/or optional benefits may also be available to you. The following tables summarize information about those benefits. Information about the fees associated with each benefit included in the tables may be found in the FEE TABLE.

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More About Certain Optional Benefits

When you apply for a policy, you can request any of the optional supplementary benefit riders that we then make available. Availability of any rider, the benefits it provides and the charges for it may vary by state. Our rules and procedures will govern eligibility for any rider and, in some cases, the configuration of the actual rider benefits. Each rider contains specific details that you should review before you decide to choose the rider. You may request an example illustrating the operation of any of the following supplementary benefit riders by contacting the Service Office at 1-800-732-5543. Charges for most riders will be deducted from the policy’s account value. We may change these charges (or the rates that determine them), but not above any applicable maximum amount stated in your policy specifications. We may add to, delete from or modify the list of optional supplementary benefit riders.

TAXES

Tax Consequences of Owning a Policy

Tax consequences will vary based on your own particular circumstances, and for further information you should consult a qualified tax adviser. This material does not constitute tax or legal advice and neither John Hancock USA nor any of its agents, employees or registered representatives are in the business of offering such advice.

Federal, state and local tax laws, regulations and interpretations can change from time to time. As a result, the tax consequences to you and the beneficiary may be altered, in some cases retroactively. The policy may be used in

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various arrangements, including non-qualified deferred compensation or salary continuation plans, split dollar insurance plans, executive bonus plans, retiree medical benefit plans and others. The tax consequences of such plans may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances of each individual arrangement. Therefore, if the value of using the policy in any such arrangement depends in part on the tax consequences, a qualified tax adviser should be consulted for advice.

Generally, death benefits paid under policies such as yours are not subject to income tax unless policy ownership has been transferred in exchange for payment. Earnings on your account value are ordinarily not subject to income tax as long as we don’t pay them out to you. If we do distribute any amount of your account value, all or part of that distribution would generally be treated as a return of the premiums you’ve paid and not subjected to income tax. Any portion not treated as a return of your premiums would be includible in your income.

Distributions for tax purposes include amounts received upon surrender or partial withdrawals. You may also be deemed to have received a distribution for tax purposes if you assign all or part of your policy rights or change your policy’s ownership. Amounts you borrow are generally not taxable to you.

Please note that certain distributions associated with a reduction in death benefit or other policy benefits within the first fifteen years after issuance of the policy are ordinarily taxable in whole or in part.

Some of the tax rules change if your policy becomes a modified endowment contract. This can happen if you’ve paid premiums in excess of limits prescribed by the tax laws. In that case, additional taxes and penalties may be payable for policy distributions of any kind, including loans.

We expect the policy to receive the same Federal income and estate tax treatment as fixed benefit life insurance policies. Section 7702 of the Code defines a life insurance contract for Federal tax purposes. For a policy to be treated as a life insurance contract, it must satisfy either the cash value accumulation test or the guideline premium test. We will monitor compliance with these standards. If we determine that a policy does not satisfy the definition of life insurance under section 7702, we may take whatever steps are appropriate and reasonable to bring it into compliance with section 7702.

It is possible that, despite our monitoring, a policy might fail to qualify as a life insurance contract under section 7702 of the Code. This could happen, for example, if we inadvertently failed to return to you any premium payments that were in excess of amounts permitted under section 7702, or if any of the funds failed to meet certain investment diversification or other requirements of the Code. If this were to occur, you would be subject to income tax on the income credited to the policy from the date of issue to the date of the disqualification and for subsequent periods.

If the policy complies with section 7702, the death benefit proceeds under the policy ordinarily should be excludible from the beneficiary’s gross income under section 101 of the Code. (As noted above, a transfer of the policy for valuable consideration may limit the exclusion of death benefits from the beneficiary’s income.)

Tax consequences of ownership or receipt of policy proceeds under Federal, state and local estate, inheritance, gift and other tax laws will depend on the circumstances of each owner or beneficiary. If the person insured by the policy is also its owner, either directly or indirectly through an entity such as a revocable trust, the death benefit will be includible in his or her estate for purposes of the Federal estate tax. If the owner is not the person insured, the value of the policy will be includible in the owner’s estate upon his or her death. Even if ownership has been transferred, the death proceeds or the account value may be includible in the former owner’s estate if the transfer occurred less than three years before the former owner’s death or if the former owner retained certain kinds of control over the policy. You should consult your tax adviser regarding these possible tax consequences.

Increases in account value as a result of interest or investment experience will not be subject to Federal income tax unless and until values are received through actual or deemed distributions. In general, unless the policy is a

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modified endowment contract, the owner will be taxed only on the amount of distributions that exceed the premiums paid under the policy. An exception to this general rule occurs in the case of a decrease in the policy’s death benefit or any other change that reduces benefits under the policy in the first fifteen years after the policy is issued and that results in a cash distribution to the policy owner. Changes that reduce benefits include partial withdrawals and reductions in face amount that result in a distribution that is required to keep the policy in compliance with section 7702. For purposes of this rule any distribution within the two years immediately before a reduction in benefits will also be treated as if it were a result of the reduction. A cash distribution that reduces policy benefits will be taxed in whole or in part (to the extent of any gain in the policy) under rules prescribed in section 72(e) of the Code. The taxable amount is subject to limits prescribed in section 7702(f)(7). Any taxable distribution will be ordinary income to the owner (rather than capital gain).

Effect on the Company’s Taxes

We are taxed as a life insurance company. Under current tax law rules, we include the investment income (exclusive of capital gains) of the Separate Account in our taxable income and take deductions for investment income credited to our policy holder reserves. We are also required to capitalize and amortize certain costs instead of deducting those costs when they are incurred. We do not currently charge the Separate Account for any resulting income tax costs, other than a charge we may impose against the Separate Account to compensate us for the cost of a delay in the deductibility of deferred acquisition costs (the “DAC tax” adjustment) pursuant to section 848 of the Internal Revenue Code. We also claim certain tax credits or deductions relating to foreign taxes paid and dividends received by the series funds. These benefits can be material. We do not pass these benefits through to the Separate Account, principally because: (i) the deductions and credits are allowed to us and not the policy owners under applicable tax law; and (ii) the deductions and credits do not represent investment return on the Separate Account assets that is passed through to policy owners.

The policies permit us to deduct a charge for any taxes we incur that are attributable to the operation or existence of the policies or the Separate Account. Currently, we do not anticipate making any specific charge for such taxes other than any DAC tax charge and premium taxes where applicable. If the level of the current taxes increases, however, or is expected to increase in the future, we reserve the right to make a charge in the future.

PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE POLICY

Lapse Risk

Any amount of premium required to keep the policy in force is in default if not paid on or before its scheduled due date, but the policy provides a 61-day grace period for the payment of each such amount. If lapse occurs, you’ll be given the opportunity to reinstate the policy by making the required premium payments and satisfying certain other conditions. Since withdrawals reduce your account value, withdrawals increase the risk of lapse. Loans also increase the risk of lapse.

Modified Schedule Premium Risk

If you choose the Modified Schedule as the basis for the Basic Premium on the policy, the Basic Premium is initially lower than if you’d chosen the Level Schedule. However, under the Modified Schedule the Basic Premium will be recalculated no later than the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 72nd birthday. The Basic Premium could be considerably higher after recalculation.

Investment Risk/Risk of Loss

The policy offers a number of variable investment accounts, as listed in the APPENDIX. The investment performance of any variable investment account may be good or bad, and you can lose money on amounts you invest in a policy. Your account value will increase or decrease based on the investment performance of the

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variable investment accounts you’ve chosen. The variable investment accounts cover a broad spectrum of investment s and strategies, some variable investment accounts are riskier than others. These risks (and potential rewards) are discussed in detail in the prospectuses of the portfolios. The death benefit may also increase or decrease with investment experience.

An investment in a policy is also subject to risks related to John Hancock USA, including that the obligations (including under the fixed account and indexed account options), guarantees, or benefits are subject to the claims-paying ability of John Hancock USA. Information about John Hancock USA, including its financial strength ratings, is available upon request from your John Hancock USA representative. Our current financial strength ratings can also be obtained by contacting the Service Office at 1-800-732-5543.

Access to Funds Risk/Not a Short-Term Investment

This policy is not a short-term investment and is not appropriate for an investor who needs ready access to cash. There is a risk that you will not be able (or willing) to access your account value by surrendering the policy. Partial withdrawals may be made only from Excess Value, if any, and are limited to one per year. There also is a fee for each partial withdrawal.

Transfer Risk

There is a risk that you will not be able to transfer your account value from one variable investment account to another because of limitations on the number of options you can invest in at one time. The limitations on transfers out of the fixed account are more restrictive than those that apply to transfers out of variable investment accounts.

To discourage market timing and disruptive trading activity, we impose restrictions on transfers and reserve the right to change, suspend or terminate telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges. While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so. Therefore, no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive trading and avoiding harm to long term investors.

Tax Risks

In order for you to receive the tax benefits extended to life insurance under the Internal Revenue Code, your policy must comply with certain requirements of the Code. We will monitor your policy for compliance with these requirements, but a policy might fail to qualify as life insurance in spite of our monitoring, which can have adverse tax consequences. If the policy were determined not to qualify as life insurance under the Code, you would be taxed on any income or gains those assets generate. In other words, you would lose the value of the so-called “tax-deferred inside build-up” that is a major benefit of life insurance.

There is a tax risk associated with policy loans. Although no part of a loan is treated as income to you when the loan is made unless your policy is a “modified endowment contract,” surrender or lapse of the policy with a loan outstanding would result in the loan being treated as a distribution at the time of lapse or surrender. This could result in a considerable tax bill. Under certain circumstances involving large amounts of outstanding loans and an insured person of advanced age, you might find yourself having to choose between high premium requirements to keep your policy from lapsing and a significant tax burden if you allow the lapse to occur.

Tax consequences of ownership or receipt of policy proceeds (including surrender or withdrawal proceeds) under Federal, state and local estate, inheritance, gift and other tax laws can vary greatly depending upon the circumstances of each owner or beneficiary. There can also be unfavorable tax consequences on such things as the change of policy ownership or assignment of ownership interests. For these and all the other reasons mentioned above, we recommend you consult with a qualified tax adviser before exercising certain rights under the policy.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE POLICY

Charges

Under the policies, we deduct the charges discussed immediately below under “Deductions from premium payments” and “Deductions from account value.” Although the Fee Table in this prospectus provides disclosure about the maximum rates we are permitted to charge, we currently deduct some of the charges at less than those maximum rates. As a general matter, however, we also are permitted to increase or decrease the rate at which we are deducting any charge, provided that the rate can never exceed the maximum set forth in your policy (including in any applicable supplementary benefit rider) and as disclosed in the Fee Table. By contacting the John Hancock USA Service Office or your John Hancock USA representative at any time, you can obtain information about the then-current rate of any charges that are applicable to your particular circumstances and/or obtain a personalized illustration that will demonstrate the manner in which those specific current charges impact the values under your policy.

Deductions from premium payments.

Deductions from account value.

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Charges at the portfolio level. The portfolios must pay investment management fees and other operating expenses from portfolio assets. These fees and expenses are different for each portfolio and reduce the investment return of each portfolio. Therefore, they also indirectly reduce the return you will earn on any variable investment accounts you select. Expenses of the portfolios are not fixed or specified under the terms of the policy, and those expenses may vary from year to year. See APPENDIX.

Additional Information About How Certain Policy Charges Work

The premium sales charge helps to compensate us for the cost of selling our policies. The amount of the charges in any policy year does not specifically correspond to sales expenses for that year. We expect to recover our total sales expenses over the life of the policy. To the extent that the sales charges do not cover total sales expenses, the sales expenses may be recovered from other sources, including gains from the charge for mortality and expense risks and other gains with respect to the policies, or from our general assets. Similarly, administrative expenses not fully recovered by the issue charge and the maintenance charge may also be recovered from such other sources.

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We deduct the monthly charges described in the Fee Tables section from your policy’s investment options in proportion to the amount of account value you have in each. For each month that we cannot deduct any charge because of insufficient account value, the uncollected charge will accumulate and be deducted when and if sufficient account value becomes available.

The insurance under the policy continues in full force during any grace period but, if the insured person dies during the policy grace period, the amount of unpaid monthly charges is deducted from the death benefit otherwise payable.

Other Charges We Could Impose in the Future

Except for the DAC tax charge, we currently make no charge for our Federal income taxes. However, if we incur, or expect to incur, income taxes attributable to any subaccount of the Account or this class of policies in future years, we reserve the right to make a charge for such taxes. Any such charge would reduce what you earn on any affected investment options. However, we expect that no such charge will be necessary.

We also reserve the right to increase the premium tax charge and the DAC tax charge in order to correspond with changes in the state premium tax levels or in the Federal income tax treatment of the deferred acquisition costs for this type of policy.

Under current laws, we may incur state and local taxes (in addition to premium taxes) in several states. At present, these taxes are not significant. If there is a material change in applicable state or local tax laws, we may make charges for such taxes.

Our right to increase any charge up to the maximum rate shown in the policy specifications applies to then outstanding policies, as well as to policies issued after the increase.

Commissions Paid to Dealers

We pay compensation to broker-dealers for the promotion and sale of the policies, and for providing ongoing service in relation to policies that have already been purchased. We may also pay a limited number of broker-dealers commissions or overrides to “wholesale” the policies; that is, to provide marketing support and training services to the broker-dealer firms that do the actual selling. The compensation paid is not expected to exceed 117.5% of the premium paid in the first policy year under a modified schedule, 13% of such premium paid in the second through fourth policy years, and 3% of such premium paid in each policy year thereafter. This compensation schedule is exclusive of additional compensation and revenue sharing and inclusive of overrides and expense allowances paid to broker-dealers for sale of the policies (not including riders). Under their own arrangements, broker-dealers determine how much of any amounts received from us is to be paid to their registered representatives.

To the extent permitted by SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules and other applicable laws and regulations, we may enter into special compensation or reimbursement arrangements (“revenue sharing”), either directly or through JH Distributors, with selected broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries. In consideration of these arrangements, a firm may feature our policy in its sales system, give us preferential access to sales staff, or allow JH Distributors or its affiliates to participate in conferences, seminars or other programs attended by the firm’s sales force. We hope to benefit from these revenue sharing and other arrangements through increased sales of our policies.

Selling broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries may receive, directly or indirectly, additional payments in the form of cash, other compensation or reimbursement. These additional compensation or reimbursement arrangements may include, for example, payments in connection with the firm’s “due diligence” examination of the policies, payments for providing conferences or seminars, sales or training programs for invited registered

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representatives and other employees, payment for travel expenses, including lodging, incurred by registered representatives and other employees for such seminars or training programs, seminars for the public or client seminars, advertising and sales campaigns regarding the policies, payments to assist a firm in connection with its systems, operations and marketing expenses and/or other events or activities sponsored by the firms. We may contribute to, as well as sponsor, various educational programs, sales promotions, and/or other contests in which participating firms and their sales persons may receive gifts and prizes such as merchandise, cash or other rewards as may be permitted under FINRA rules and other applicable laws and regulations.

You should contact your registered representative for more information on compensation arrangements in connection with your purchase of a policy. We provide additional information on special compensation or reimbursement arrangements involving broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries in the Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”).

Lapse and Reinstatement

Lapse and Lapse Options. Any amount of premium required to keep the policy in force is in default if not paid on or before its scheduled due date, but the policy provides a 61-day grace period for the payment of each such amount. The policy continues in full force during the grace period. If the insured person dies during the grace period, we will deduct the amount in default from the death benefit. During the grace period, you cannot make transfers among investment options or make a partial withdrawal or policy loan. If your policy enters a grace period, we will notify you of how much you will need to pay to keep the policy in force. If you don’t pay at least the required amount by the end of the grace period, your policy will terminate (i.e., lapse). If a policy lapses, we apply the surrender value on the date of lapse to one of three options for continued insurance that does not require further payment of premium: Variable Paid-Up Insurance, Fixed Paid-Up Insurance or Fixed Extended Term Insurance on the life of the insured person, commencing on the date of lapse.

Both the Variable and Fixed Paid-Up Insurance options provide an amount of paid-up whole life insurance, determined in accordance with the policy, which the surrender value will purchase. The amount of Variable Paid-Up Insurance may then increase or decrease, subject to any guarantee, in response to the investment experience of the variable investment accounts. The Fixed Paid-Up Insurance option provides a fixed and level amount of insurance. The Fixed Extended Term Insurance option provides a fixed amount of insurance determined in accordance with the policy, with the insurance coverage continuing for as long a period as the available policy surrender value will purchase.

The Variable Paid-Up Insurance option is not available unless its initial amount is at least $5,000. If you have elected no option before the end of the grace period, the Fixed Extended Term Insurance option automatically applies unless the amount of Fixed Paid-Up Insurance would equal or exceed the amount of Fixed Extended Term Insurance or unless the insured person is a substandard risk. In either of the latter cases, Fixed Paid-Up Insurance is provided.

You may surrender a policy that is being continued under any of these options for the option’s surrender value while the insured person is living. Loans may be available under the Variable and Fixed Paid-Up Insurance options.

Reinstatement. You can still reactivate (i.e., “reinstate”) a lapsed policy within 3 years from the beginning of the grace period, unless the surrender value has been paid out or otherwise exhausted or the period of any Fixed Extended Term Insurance has expired. You will have to provide evidence that the insured person still meets our requirements for issuing coverage. You will also have to pay a minimum amount of premium and be subject to the other terms and conditions applicable to reinstatements, as specified in the policy.

Generally, the suicide exclusion and incontestability provisions will apply from the effective date of reinstatement. A surrendered policy cannot be reinstated.

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Variations

Insurance laws and regulations apply to us in every state in which our policies are sold. As a result, terms and conditions of your insurance coverage may vary depending on where you purchase a policy. We disclose all material variations in this prospectus.

We may vary the charges and other terms of our policies where special circumstances result in sales or administrative expenses, mortality risks or other risks that are different from those normally associated with the policies, subject to the maximum charges described in this prospectus. For example, with respect to policies issued to a class of associated individuals or to a trustee, employer or similar entity where we anticipate that the sales to the members of the class will result in lower than normal sales or administrative expenses, lower taxes or lower risks to us, we may offer the policies with reduced charges or with additional or enhanced features or benefits. We will make these programs available in accordance with our established administrative procedures in effect at the time of the application for a policy. The factors we consider in determining the eligibility of a particular group for such a program are: (i) the nature of the association and its organizational framework; (ii) the method by which sales will be made to the members of the class; (iii) the facility with which premiums will be collected from the associated individuals and the association’s capabilities with respect to administrative tasks; (iv) the anticipated lapse and surrender rates of the policies; (v) the size of the class of associated individuals and the number of years it has been in existence; (vi) the aggregate amount of premiums paid; and (vii) any other such circumstances which result in a reduction in sales or administrative expenses, lower taxes or lower risks. Any variation in charges, features, or benefits will be reasonable and will apply uniformly to all prospective policy investors in the class and will not unfairly discriminate against any owner.

Policy or Registrant Changes

We reserve the right to make any changes in the policy necessary to ensure the policy is within the definition of life insurance under the Federal tax laws and is in compliance with any changes in Federal or state tax laws.

In our policies, we reserve the right to make certain changes if they would serve the best interests of policy owners or would be appropriate in carrying out the purposes of the policies. These changes include the following:

Any such changes will be made only to the extent permitted by applicable laws and only in the manner permitted by such laws. When required by law, we will obtain your approval of the changes and the approval of any appropriate regulatory authority.

We also reserve the right, subject to compliance with applicable law, including approval of owners if so required, (1) to transfer assets determined by John Hancock USA to be associated with the class of policies to which your policy belongs from the Separate Account to another separate account or subaccount, (2) to deregister the Separate Account under the 1940 Act, (3) to substitute for the fund shares held by a subaccount any other investment permitted by law, and (4) to take any action necessary to comply with or obtain any exemptions from the 1940 Act. Any such change will be made only if, in our judgment, the change would best serve the interests of owners of policies in your policy class or would be appropriate in carrying out the purposes of such policies. We would notify owners of any of the foregoing changes and to the extent legally required, obtain approval of affected owners and any regulatory body prior thereto. Such notice and approval, however, may not be legally required in all cases.

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When We Pay Policy Proceeds

We will ordinarily pay any death benefit, withdrawal, surrender value or loan within 7 days after we receive the last required form or request (and, with respect to the death benefit, any other documentation that may be required). As permitted by state law and our current administrative procedures, death claim proceeds may be placed into an interest-bearing John Hancock retained asset account in the beneficiary’s name. The interest earned in a John Hancock retained asset account is normally subject to income tax. You should consult with your tax advisor if you have any questions regarding taxation of the interest earned. We will provide the beneficiary with a checkbook, so checks may be written for all or a part of the proceeds. The retained asset account is part of our general account and is subject to the claims of our creditors. It is not a bank account and it is not insured by the FDIC. We may receive a benefit from managing proceeds held in a retained asset account. Please contact our Service Office for more information. Alternatively, you can elect to have proceeds of $1,000 or more applied to any of the other payment options we may offer at the time. You cannot choose an option if the monthly payments under the option would be less than $50. We will issue a supplementary agreement when the proceeds are applied to any alternative payment option. That agreement will spell out terms of the option in full. Please contact our Service Office for more information.

We reserve the right to defer payment of that portion of your account value that is attributable to a premium payment made by check for a reasonable period of time (not to exceed fifteen days) to allow the check to clear the banking system. We will not delay payment longer than necessary for us to verify a check has cleared the banking system.

We reserve the right to defer payment of any death benefit, loan or other distribution that is derived from a variable investment account if (1) the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings) or trading on the NYSE is restricted; (2) an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, as a result of which disposal of securities is not reasonably practicable or it is not reasonably practicable to fairly determine the account value; or (3) the SEC by order permits the delay for the protection of owners. Transfers and allocations of account value among the variable investment accounts may also be postponed under these circumstances. If we need to defer calculation of separate account values for any of the foregoing reasons, all delayed transactions will be processed at the next values that we do compute.

State laws allow us to defer payment of any portion of the surrender value derived from the fixed account for up to six months. These laws were enacted many years ago to help insurance companies in the event of a liquidity crisis.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT, DEPOSITOR AND PORTFOLIOS

Depositor

Your policy is issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), 200 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116.

Registrant

The “registrant” of the policies with the SEC is the John Hancock Variable Life Account V, a separate account operated by us under Michigan law (the “Separate Account”). Each subaccount of the Separate Account invests its assets in one of the portfolios shown in the APPENDIX.

The Separate Account’s assets are our property. Each policy provides that amounts we hold in the Separate Account pursuant to the policies cannot be reached by any other persons who may have claims against us and can’t be used to pay any obligations of John Hancock USA other than those arising out of policies that use the Separate Account. Income, gains and losses credited to, or charged against, the Separate Account reflect the Separate Account’s own investment experience and not the investment experience of John Hancock USA’s other assets. All obligations under the policies (including under any fixed account options), guarantees, or benefits are obligations of John Hancock USA and are subject to its claims paying ability.

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We normally compute policy values for each business day as of the close of the NYSE on that day (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). In case of emergency or other disruption resulting in the NYSE closing at a time other than the regularly scheduled close, the close of our business day may be the regularly scheduled close of the NYSE or another time permitted by the SEC and applicable regulations. Over time, the amount you’ve invested in any variable investment account will increase or decrease the same as if you had invested the same amount directly in the corresponding portfolio and had reinvested all of that portfolio’s dividends and distributions in additional portfolio shares, except that we will deduct certain additional charges which will reduce your account value. We describe these charges under “Charges at the portfolio level.”

Portfolios

Information regarding each portfolio, including (i) its name; (ii) its investment objective; (iii) its investment adviser and any sub-investment adviser; (iv) current expenses; and (v) performance is available in the APPENDIX to this prospectus. Each portfolio has issued a prospectus that contains more detailed information about the portfolio. You can obtain the prospectus (hard copy or electronic) and additional information about any portfolio at the addresses or phone number set forth in the first paragraph of the APPENDIX. On each business day, shares of each series are purchased or redeemed by us for each subaccount based on, among other things, the amount of net premiums allocated to the subaccount, distributions reinvested, and transfers to, from and among subaccounts, all to be effected as of that date. Such purchases and redemptions are effected at each series fund’s net asset value per share determined for that same date. A “business day” is any date on which the NYSE is open for trading.

We will purchase and redeem series fund shares for the Separate Account at their net asset value without any sales or redemption charges. Shares of a series fund represent an interest in one of the funds of the series fund which corresponds to a subaccount of the Separate Account. Any dividend or capital gains distributions received by the Separate Account will be reinvested in shares of that same fund at their net asset value as of the dates paid. We normally calculate the unit values for each variable investment account once every business day as of the close of that day, usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Sales and redemptions within any variable investment account will be transacted using the unit value calculated as follows after we receive your request either in writing or other form that we specify. If we receive your request before the close of our business day, we’ll use the unit value calculated as of the end of that business day. If we receive your request at or after the close of our business day, we’ll use the unit value calculated as of the end of the next business day. If a scheduled transaction falls on a day that is not a business day, we’ll process it as of the end of the next business day.

Voting Portfolio Shares

We will vote all portfolio shares that we hold in the Separate Account for policy owners in proportion to instructions timely received by us from policy owners from all our Separate Accounts that are registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. We will vote all portfolio shares that we otherwise are entitled to vote (including our own shares and other shares for which we receive no instructions) on any matter in proportion to the instructions timely received by us and any affiliated insurance companies with respect to the matter from policy owners in separate accounts of these insurance companies that are registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. The effect of this proportional voting is that a small number of policy owners can determine the outcome of a vote. The voting privileges described above reflect our understanding of applicable Federal securities law requirements. To the extent that applicable law, regulations or interpretations change to eliminate or restrict the need for such voting privileges, we reserve the right to proceed in accordance with any such revised requirements.

We will determine the number of portfolio shares for which voting instructions may be given not more than 90 days prior to the meeting. Proxy material will be distributed to each person having the voting interest under the policy together with appropriate forms for giving voting instructions.

We determine the number of a portfolio’s shares held in a subaccount attributable to each owner by dividing the amount of a policy’s variable investment account value held in the subaccount by the net asset value of one share

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in the series fund. Fractional votes will be counted. We determine the number of shares as to which the owner may give instructions as of the record date for a series fund’s meeting. Owners of policies may give instructions regarding the election of the Board of Trustees or Board of Directors of a series fund, ratification of the selection of independent auditors, approval of series fund investment advisory agreements and other matters requiring a shareholder vote.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

There are no legal proceedings to which the Depositor, the Separate Account or the principal underwriter is a party or to which the assets of the Separate Account are subject that are likely to have a material adverse effect on the Separate Account or the ability of the principal underwriter to perform its contract with the Separate Account or of the Depositor to meet its obligations under the policy.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The financial statements of the Separate Account, as well as the consolidated financial statements of John Hancock USA are in the SAI. The financial statements of John Hancock USA have relevance for the policies only to the extent that they bear upon its ability to meet its obligations under the policies. You may request an SAI by contacting our Service Office at a phone number or address shown on the back cover of this prospectus.

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APPENDIX: PORTFOLIOS AVAILABLE UNDER THE POLICY

The following is a list of portfolios available under the policies. More information about the portfolios is available in the prospectuses for the portfolios, which may be amended from time to time. You can also request this information at no cost by calling 1-800-732-5543 or by sending an email request to [email protected].

The current expenses and performance information below reflect fees and expenses of the portfolios, but do not reflect the other fees and expenses that your policy may charge. Expenses would be higher and performance would be lower if these other charges were included. Each portfolio’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.

* The portfolios’ annual expenses may reflect temporary fee or expense waivers or reimbursements.

JOHN HANCOCK USA SERVICE OFFICE

In addition to this prospectus, John Hancock USA has filed with the SEC an SAI that contains additional information about John Hancock USA and the Separate Account, including information on our history, services provided to the Separate Account, and the audited financial statements for John Hancock USA and the Separate Account. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this prospectus and personalized illustrations of death benefits, policy values and surrender values are available, without charge, upon request. You may obtain the personalized illustrations from your John Hancock USA representative. The SAI may be obtained without charge by contacting the John Hancock USA Service Office. You should also contact the John Hancock USA Service Office to request any other information about your policy or to make any inquiries about its operation.

Reports and other information about the Separate Account are available on the SEC’s Internet website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of such information may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by submitting an electronic request to the following e-mail address: [email protected].

1940 Act File No. 811-5290 — 1933 Act File No. 333-164175

EDGAR Contract Identifier No. C000086010