Form 497 JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURA

John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York Separate Account B

JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(“John Hancock New York”)

Flexible Premium Survivorship Variable Universal Life Insurance Policy

MAJESTIC SURVIVORSHIP VULX

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

You may choose to allocate your policy 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 policy 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 Life Insurance Company of New York Separate Account B (“Separate Account”), and the subaccount invests those amounts exclusively in one of the portfolios.

You may also allocate policy 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 policy 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.

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

This is a so-called “survivorship” policy that provides coverage on two insured persons. The policy’s primary purpose is to provide lifetime protection against economic loss due to the death of the insured persons. 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.” The Minimum Initial Premium is a dollar amount that is stated in your policy specifications and that must be paid to us in full before your policy will take effect. Premium payments after the initial premium may not be required, but you must pay enough premium to keep the policy in force. That’s why the policy is called a “flexible premium” policy. After the payment of the initial premium, premiums may be paid at any time and in any amount until the insured person’s attained age 121, subject to the need to pay enough premium to keep the policy in force, and to limitations on maximum premium amount.

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. In addition, in order to limit our investment risk exposure under certain market conditions, we may refuse to accept additional premium payments.

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 accounts or fixed account as you’ve elected.

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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.

You can also allocate policy value to the fixed account (where it is 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). If the net cash surrender value is insufficient to pay the charges when due your policy can terminate (i.e. “lapse”). This can happen because you haven’t paid enough premium or because the investment performance of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen has been poor.

Policy Features

Death benefit. When the last surviving insured person dies, we will pay the death benefit minus any outstanding policy debt and unpaid fees and charges. There are two ways of calculating the death benefit. You choose which one you want in the application.

Surrender of the policy. You may surrender the policy in full while the insured person is alive. If you do, we will pay you the policy value less any outstanding policy debt and less any applicable surrender fee. This is called your “net cash surrender value.”

Withdrawals. You may make a withdrawal of part of your net cash surrender value once in each policy month. Each withdrawal must be at least $500. Your policy value is automatically reduced by the amount of the withdrawal. A withdrawal may also reduce the Total Face Amount.

Policy loans. If your policy is in force and has sufficient policy value, you may borrow from it at any time by completing the appropriate form. Generally, the minimum amount of each loan is $500. The maximum amount you can borrow is determined by a formula as described in your policy. Interest is charged on each loan. If there is an outstanding loan when the last surviving insured person dies, the amount of the loan and accrued interest will be deducted from the death benefit and other policy proceeds.

Supplementary benefits. When you apply for the policy, you can request any of the below-listed supplementary benefit riders that we make available. Availability of riders varies from state to state. Charges for most riders will be deducted monthly from the policy value. Some riders may not be available in combination with other riders or benefits.

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.

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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 policy value between investment options.

(fn1) For premiums paid in excess of the Target Premium, the current charges differ from those shown above as follows: A premium charge of 8% is deducted from each premium in excess of the Target Premium in the first policy year and a charge of 4% is deducted from each premium in excess of Target Premium in policy years 2-10. Also, a current premium charge of 3% is deducted from all premiums paid in policy years 11 and thereafter. The Target Premium appears in the Policy Specifications section of the policy and is based on the amount of Base Face Amount at issue.

(fn2) This charge is not currently imposed, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.

(fn3) The charge for this rider is determined as a percentage of unloaned account value. The rates vary by the attained age of the younger insured person at the time of exercise. The rates also differ according to the tax qualification test elected at issue. The maximum rate shown is for the younger insured person who has reached or would have reached at 75 and the cash value accumulation test has been elected. The minimum rate shown is for the younger insured person who has reached or would have reached age 120 and either the guideline premium test or the cash value accumulation test has been elected. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock NY representative.

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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.

(fn1) The cost of insurance charge is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount at risk or “NAR”) by the applicable cost of insurance rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the length of time the policy has been in effect, the insurance risk characteristics of the insured persons and (generally) the sex of the insured persons. The maximum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for two 90 year old male substandard smoker underwriting risks. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year

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for a policy issued to cover two 20 year old female super preferred non-smoker underwriting risks. The representative insured persons rate refers to the rates in the first policy year for a 55 year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk and a 52 year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock NY representative.

(fn2) This charge is determined by multiplying the Base Face Amount at issue by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the sum of the issue ages of the insured persons. The maximum rate shown is for two 90 year old persons. The minimum rate shown is for two 20 year old persons. The representative insured persons rate refers to a 55 year old person and a 52 year old person. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock NY representative.

(fn3) This charge is determined by multiplying the Supplemental Face Amount at issue by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the sum of the issue ages of the insured persons. The maximum rate shown is for two 90 year old persons. The minimum rate shown is for two 20 year old persons. The representative insured persons rate refers to a 55 year old person and a 52 year old person. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock NY representative.

(fn4) This charge is currently not imposed, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.

(fn5) This charge only applies to the portion of the policy value held in the variable investment accounts. The charge determined does not apply to any policy value held in a fixed account. The maximum charge varies based on the amount of Base Fact Amount and Supplemental Face Amount elected at issue. The maximum charge shown is for a policy with 20% Base Face Amount and 80% Supplemental Face Amount at issue. The current charge is 0.2% of policy value in policy years 1-15, 0.00% in policy years 16 and thereafter. The current charge is the same for all policies, regardless of the percentages of Base Face Amount and Supplemental Face Amount elected at issue. For more information, contact your John Hancock NY representative.

(fn6) Currently, we charge a 4.25% annual effective interest rate in policy years 1-10, and 3.00% thereafter. (We reserve the right to charge a 4.50% annual effective interest rate in policy years 1-10 and 3.25% thereafter). The amount of any loan is transferred from the accounts to a special loan account which earns interest at an effective annual rate of 3.00%. Therefore, the cost of a loan is the difference between the loan interest we charge and the interest we credit to the special loan account.

(fn7) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount at risk or “NAR”) by the applicable cost of insurance rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the length of time the policy has been in effect, the insurance risk characteristics of the insured persons and (generally) the sex of the insured persons. The maximum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for two 90 year old male substandard smoker underwriting risks. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a policy issued to cover two 20 year old female super preferred non-smoker underwriting risks. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 55 year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk and a 52 year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock NY 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.

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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 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

All premiums received prior to the Issue Date of the policy will be held in the general account and credited with interest from the date of receipt at the rate of return then being earned on amounts allocated to the Money Market variable investment account. After the Issue Date but prior to the Allocation Date, net premiums received are allocated to the Money Market variable investment account. The “Allocation Date” of the policy is the tenth day after the Issue Date. The Issue Date is shown in your policy specifications. On the Allocation Date, the net premiums paid plus return credited, if any, will be allocated among the variable investment accounts or the fixed account in accordance with the policy owner’s instructions. Any net premium received on or after the Allocation Date will be allocated among variable investment accounts or the fixed account as of the business day on or next following the date the premium is received at the Service Office. In your application for a policy, you give us your initial instructions as to how you wish your initial and future premium payments to be allocated among the variable investment and fixed accounts. Your instructions must be in percentages that add up to 100%. 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.

There are restrictions that may limit the variable investment and fixed account options that you may choose, as well as limitations on the transfer of policy value among those options. For example, your investment options will be limited if you exercise benefits under the Long-Term Care Rider or the Overloan Protection Rider. Specifically, all value you have in the variable investment accounts will automatically be transferred to the fixed account, and, so long as you continue to receive any of those benefits, you will not be permitted to allocate any additional amounts to the variable investment account.

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Transfers of Policy Value

You may transfer your policy value from one variable investment account or fixed account to another, subject to the limitations discussed below. 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 Without our approval, the maximum amount you may transfer to or from any account (fixed or investment) in any policy year is $1,000,000.

We have adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent transfers of policy 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 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 accounts in its policies within the following limits: (i) during the 10 calendar day period after any policy values are transferred from one variable investment account into a second variable investment account, the values can only be transferred out of the second variable investment account if they are transferred into the Money Market variable investment account; and (ii) any policy 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 account may not be transferred out of the Money Market variable investment account into any other variable investment account 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 underlying 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. The restrictions described in these paragraphs will be applied uniformly to all policy holders subject to the restrictions.

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

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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 of up to $25 for any transfer beyond an annual limit (which would be 12 or more). No transfer fee will be imposed on any transfer from a variable investment account into any fixed account if the transfer occurs during the following periods:

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.

Limitations on transfers out of the fixed account. Transfers out of the fixed account option in any one policy year are limited to the greater of (i) the fixed account maximum transfer amount of $2,000, (ii) the fixed account maximum transfer percentage of 25% multiplied by the amount of the fixed account on the immediately preceding policy anniversary, or (iii) the amount transferred out of the fixed account during the previous policy year. Any transfer out of the fixed account may not involve a transfer to the Money Market variable investment account. We reserve the right to impose a minimum amount limit on transfers out of any fixed account. We also reserve the right to impose different restrictions on any additional fixed account that we may offer in the future. We may waive the transfer restrictions on the fixed account.

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 accounts, (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 account into any other variable investment account 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. We do not apply any minimum amount requirements for participation in the DCA program. You can participate in

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both the dollar cost averaging and asset rebalancing programs at the same time. Under the asset allocation balancer program you will designate an allocation of policy value among variable investment accounts. We will move amounts among the variable investment accounts 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 policy value in the variable investment accounts. 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

The fixed account is part of our general account. 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 account and any guaranteed benefits we may provide under the policy that exceed the value of amounts held in the Separate Account 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 NY 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. John Hancock NY bears full investment risk for all amounts allocated to the fixed account.

Because of exemptive and exclusionary provisions, interests in our fixed account 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.

The fixed account options. Policy 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. We currently offer two fixed account options — the standard fixed account, and the enhanced yield fixed account offered as a supplementary benefit rider. The effective annual rate we declare for the fixed account options will never be less than 2%. We reserve the right to offer one or more additional fixed accounts with characteristics that differ from those of the current fixed account, but we are under no obligation to do so. Any interest we credit in excess of the guaranteed interest crediting rate will be based on our sole discretion. Additionally, interest credited on a non-guaranteed basis varies over time is rarely the same year-over-year and there may be extended periods of time during which no interest above the guaranteed minimum is declared.

PREMIUMS

Purchase Procedures

Generally, the policy is available with a minimum Total Face Amount at issue of $100,000 and a minimum Base Face Amount at issue of $50,000. At the time of issue, each insured person must have an attained age of no more than 90. Each insured person insured person must meet certain health and other insurance risk criteria called “underwriting standards.”

The Minimum Initial Premium is set forth in your policy specifications. Factors that determine the minimum initial premium amount generally include the insured persons’ age, sex and risk classification including any additional ratings; the Total Face Amount of insurance and election of any Supplemental Face Amount; choice of Death Benefit Option 1 vs. Option 2; and any selected supplementary benefit riders. Premium payments after the initial premium may not be required, but you must pay enough premium to keep the policy in force. That’s why the policy is called a “flexible premium” policy.

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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.” 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 the John Hancock NY Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover of this prospectus. We will also accept premiums by wire or by exchange from another insurance company, or via an electronic funds transfer program (any owner interested in making monthly premium payments must use this method).

Premium Amount

In addition to the Minimum Initial Premium, your policy specifications will also show the “Planned Premium” that you chose for the policy. Payment of Planned Premiums is not necessarily required, however. You need only pay enough premium to keep the policy in force.

The amount and frequency of the Planned Premium are determined by you, in consultation with your financial advisor, based upon your financial objectives for the policy. Depending upon the amount and timing of your actual premium payments, investment results, changing objectives and other factors, you may need to change the amount and frequency of your premium payments from the Planned Premium amount in order for the policy to continue to support your financial objectives. You may be required to pay additional premiums beyond the Planned Premium amount in order to keep your policy from lapsing. You should request in-force illustrations periodically in order to help assure that you are keeping on track with your objectives.

Federal tax law limits the amount of premium payments you can make relative to the amount of your policy’s insurance coverage. Also, in order to limit our exposure to unanticipated investment risk, we may refuse to accept additional premium payments. For example, with large premium payments in an environment of decreasing interest rates, we may not be able to acquire investments for our general account that will sufficiently match the liabilities we are incurring under our fixed account guarantees. Excessive allocations may also interfere with the effective management of our variable investment accounts, if we are unable to make an orderly investment of the additional premium into the variable investment accounts. Also, we may refuse to accept or limit an amount of premium if the amount of the 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.

We will notify you in writing of our refusal to accept premium and will promptly thereafter take the necessary steps to return the premium to you. Notwithstanding the foregoing limits on the premium that we will accept, we will not refuse to accept any premium necessary to prevent the policy from terminating.

Premium Due Dates

A policy will go into default if at the beginning of any policy month the policy’s net cash surrender value would be zero or below after deducting the monthly deductions then due. Therefore, a policy could lapse eventually if increases in policy value (prior to deduction of policy charges) are not sufficient to cover policy charges. We will notify you of the default and will allow a 61-day grace period in which you may make a premium payment sufficient to bring the policy out of default. The required payment will be equal to the amount necessary to bring the net cash surrender value to zero, if it was less than zero on the date of default, plus an amount equal to three times the monthly deductions due on the date of default, plus any applicable premium charge. If the last surviving insured person should die during the grace period, the policy value used in the calculation of the death benefit will be the policy value as of the date of default and the death benefit will be reduced by any outstanding monthly deductions due at the time of death. If the required payment is not received by the end of the grace period, the policy will terminate (i.e., “lapse”) with no value.

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STANDARD DEATH BENEFITS

Standard Death Benefits

Effectiveness and Policy Date. After you apply for a policy, we gather and evaluate all the information we need to decide whether to issue a policy to you and, if so, what each insured person’s risk classification should be. After we approve an application for a policy and assign an appropriate insurance risk classification, we will prepare the policy for delivery. The policy will take effect only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

If all of the above conditions are satisfied, the policy will take effect on the date shown in the policy as the “Policy Date.” That is the date on which we begin to take monthly deductions. Policy months, policy years and policy anniversaries are all measured from the Policy Date. Under limited circumstances, we may backdate a policy, upon request, by assigning a Policy Date earlier than the date the application is signed. However, in no event will a policy be backdated earlier than the earliest date allowed by state law, which is generally three months to one year prior to the date of application for the policy. The most common reasons for backdating are to preserve a younger age at issue for the insured person or to retain a common monthly deduction date in certain corporate-owned life insurance cases involving multiple policies issued over time. If used to preserve age, backdating will result in lower insurance charges. However, monthly deductions will begin earlier than would otherwise be the case.

Temporary insurance coverage. If a specified amount of premium is paid with the application for a policy and other conditions are met, we will provide temporary term life insurance coverage on the insured persons for a period prior to the time coverage under the policy takes effect. Such temporary term coverage will be subject to the terms and conditions described in the Temporary Life Insurance Agreement and Receipt attached to the application for the policy, including conditions to coverage and limits on amount and duration of coverage.

Option 1 and Option 2. When the last surviving insured person dies, we will pay the death benefit minus any outstanding policy debt and unpaid fees and charges. There are two ways of calculating the death benefit. You must choose which one you want in the application. The two death benefit options are described below.

For the same premium payments, the death benefit under Option 2 will tend to be higher than the death benefit under Option 1. On the other hand, the Base Face Amount charge and resulting cost of insurance charges (based on the higher net amount at risk) will be higher under Option 2 to compensate us for the additional insurance risk. Because of that, the policy value will tend to be higher under Option 1 than under Option 2 for the same premium payments.

Poor investment performance of the portfolios, expenses, and deduction of charges under the policy all will reduce the policy value and net cash surrender value and may also reduce the death benefit. However, favorable investment performance may increase the policy 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

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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.

Base Face Amount and Supplemental Face Amount. The Supplemental Face Amount you can have generally cannot exceed 400% of the Base Face Amount at the Issue Date. The Issue Date is shown in the Policy Specifications page of the policy. Thereafter, increases to the Supplemental Face Amount in any one policy year cannot exceed 25% of the Total Face Amount at the Issue Date.

You should consider a number of factors in determining whether to elect coverage in the form of Base Face Amount or in the form of Supplemental Face Amount. Some of these factors include the following:

The lower premium charges and Face Amount charges applied to Supplemental Face Amount will tend to result in higher cash value accumulation, or alternatively lower premium payments, for the same amount of death benefit compared to Base Face Amount coverage. However, if the company should increase the asset-based risk charges under your policy to the maximum limits, the higher guaranteed asset-based risk charge resulting from a higher amount of Supplemental Face Amount at issue could increase the policy’s risk of lapse, requiring additional premium payments. You should also consider that the amount of compensation paid to the selling broker-dealer will be higher if you elect greater proportions of Base Face Amount coverage at issue.

Ultimately, individual needs and objectives vary. You should discuss your individual needs with your registered representative.

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Minimum death benefit. In order for a policy to qualify as life insurance under Federal tax law, there has to be a minimum amount of insurance in relation to policy value. There are two tests that can be applied under Federal tax law — the “guideline premium test” and the “cash value accumulation test.” You must elect which test you wish to have applied at issue. Once elected, the test cannot be changed without our approval.

Under the guideline premium test, we compute the minimum death benefit each business day by multiplying the policy value on that date by the death benefit factor applicable on that date. A table showing the factor for each age will appear in the policy, and the following table shows those factors for selected ages:

Under the cash value accumulation test, we compute the minimum death benefit each business day by multiplying the policy value on that date by the death benefit factor applicable on that date. The factor decreases as attained age increases. A table showing the factor for each policy year will appear in the policy. Factors for some ages are shown in the table below.

These death benefit factors are subject to change based on the issue date of your policy. Please refer to your policy and contact your John Hancock NY representative for the death benefit factors that are specific to your policy.

The cash value accumulation test may be preferable if you want to fund the policy so that the minimum death benefit will increase earlier than would be required under the guideline premium test, or if you want to fund the policy at the “7 pay” limit for the full seven years.

To the extent that the calculation of the minimum death benefit under the selected life insurance qualification test causes the death benefit to exceed our limits, we reserve the right to return premiums or distribute a portion of the policy value so that the resulting amount of insurance is maintained within our limits. Alternatively, if we should decide to accept the additional amount of insurance, we may require additional evidence of insurability.

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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 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

Requesting an increase or decrease in coverage. After the first policy year, you may make a written request for an unscheduled increase in Supplemental Face Amount. We must receive your written request within two months of your next policy anniversary. Unscheduled increases are also subject to a one time charge as described in the Fee Tables. Generally, each such increase must be at least $50,000. Scheduled increases in any one policy year can not exceed 25% of the Total Face Amount at issue. We will require evidence that both insured persons qualify for the same risk classification that applied to them at issue. Generally, an approved increase will take effect on the policy anniversary on or next following the date we approve the request. If you elect scheduled increases to your Supplemental Face Amount when you apply for the policy, you may not elect to purchase the Four Year Term, Policy Split Option, or Return of Premium Death Benefit Riders. Any unscheduled increases in Supplemental Face Amount after issue would first require that you terminate the Return of Premium Death Benefit and Four Year Term Riders you may have elected at issue.

After the first policy year, we may approve a reduction in the Base Face Amount or the Supplemental Face Amount, but only if:

We reserve the right to require that the Supplemental Face Amount be fully depleted before the Base Face Amount can be reduced. An approved decrease will take effect on the monthly deduction date on or next following the date we approve the request.

Change of death benefit option. Under our current administrative rules, we permit the death benefit option to be changed from Option 2 to Option 1 after the first policy year. If you request in writing, and we approve a change from Option 2 to Option 1, your Face Amount after the change will equal your Face Amount before the change plus the policy value as of the effective date of the change. If you change from Option 2 to Option 1, your death benefit will change from one that may increase over time due to the investment experience of the underlying variable investment accounts to one that is a level death benefit. Changing from Option 2 to Option 1 can also lower the monthly Cost of Insurance charge since this charge is lowered when the Net Amount At Risk is reduced; all other charges under the policy would remain the same. We reserve the right to limit a request for a change if the change would cause the policy to fail to qualify as life insurance for tax purposes.

A change in the death benefit option will result in a change in the policy’s Total Face Amount, in order to avoid any change in the amount of the death benefit. The new Total Face Amount will be equal to the Total Face Amount prior to the change plus the policy value as of the date of the change. The change will take effect on the monthly deduction date on or next following the date the written request for the change is received at our Service Office.

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Notwithstanding other policy limits, if the change from Option 2 to 1 yields a Total Face Amount that is larger than 400% of the Total Face Amount at issue, we will allow for the increase.

Tax consequences of coverage changes. If you change the death benefit option, the Federal tax law test (“guideline premium test” or “cash value accumulation test”) that you elected at issue will continue to apply.

A change in the death benefit option or Total Face Amount will often change the policy’s limits under the Federal tax law test that you elected. To avoid having the policy cease to qualify as life insurance for tax purposes, we reserve the right to (i) refuse or limit a change in the death benefit option or Total Face Amount and (ii) change the Guideline Single Premium or Guideline Level Premium, as applicable.

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 Base Face Amount, any Supplemental Face Amount, and every other benefit to that which would have been purchased at the correct age or sex by the most recent cost of insurance charge.

SURRENDERS AND WITHDRAWALS

Surrender and Withdrawal

You may surrender the policy in full at any time, in which case we will pay you the policy’s full net cash surrender value and coverage under the policy and any riders and other benefits under the policy will cease. After the first policy year, you may take a withdrawal of part of your net cash surrender value once in each policy month. The amount of payment you will receive upon a surrender or withdrawal is based on values calculated as of the day we receive your request in good order or, if that is not a business day, on the next day that is. We generally pay that amount to you within seven days thereafter.

Additional Information Regarding Surrender and Withdrawal

The surrender of the policy terminates the life insurance coverage and other policy benefits. If you surrender your policy, we will pay you the policy value less any policy debt. You must return your policy when you request a surrender.

With withdrawals, your policy value is automatically reduced by the amount of any withdrawal. Because it reduces the policy value, any withdrawal will reduce your death benefit under either Option 1 or Option 2. Under Option 1, such a withdrawal may also reduce the Total Face Amount. Generally, any such reduction in the Total Face Amount will be implemented by first reducing any Supplemental Face Amount then in effect.

Generally, each withdrawal must be at least $500. We will not permit a withdrawal if it would cause your surrender value to fall below three months’ worth of monthly deductions. We reserve the right to refuse any withdrawal that would cause the policy’s Total Face Amount to fall below $250,000 or the Base Face Amount to fall below $100,000. If such a reduction in Total Face Amount would cause the policy to fail the Internal Revenue Code’s (“Code”) definition of life insurance, we will not permit the withdrawal.

LOANS

Availability of Loans, Limitations and Interest

If your policy is in force and has sufficient policy value, you may borrow from it at any time before the younger insured person has reached age 121 by completing the appropriate form. We process policy loans as of the business day on or next following the day we receive the loan request. You can repay all or part of a loan at any

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time. Policy loans permanently affect the calculation of your policy value and may also result in adverse tax consequences. The amount of the outstanding loan (which includes accrued and unpaid interest) is subtracted from the amount otherwise payable when the policy proceeds become payable.

The minimum amount of each loan is $500. The maximum amount you can borrow is the greater of (i) 90% of net cash surrender value and (ii) the amount determined as set out below.

The minimum amount of each loan is $500. The interest charged on any loan is currently an effective annual rate of 4.25% in the first ten policy years and 3.00% thereafter. However, we reserve the right to increase the percentage after the tenth policy year to as much as 3.25%. Accrued interest will be added to the loan daily and will bear interest at the same rate as the original loan amount. Unless otherwise specified by you, the amount of the loan is deducted from the variable investment accounts and any fixed account in the same proportion as the policy value is then allocated among them. The amount of the loan is then placed in a special loan account. This special loan account will earn interest at an effective annual rate of 3%.

Effect of Loans on Cash Value and Death Benefit

Unless otherwise specified by you, the amount of the loan is deducted from the variable investment accounts and any fixed account in the same proportion as the policy value is then allocated among them. Amounts in the loan account do not participate in the investment experience of the variable investment accounts or the fixed account, and therefore loans can affect the policy value and death benefit whether or not the loan is repaid. The policy value, the net cash surrender value, and any death benefit are permanently affected by any loan, whether or not it is repaid in whole or in part. This is because the variable investment accounts or any fixed account and the special loan account will generally have different rates of investment return.

Other Effects of Loans

Taking a loan on the policy increases the risk that the policy may lapse because of the difference between the interest rate charged on the loan and the interest rate credited to the special loan account. When a loan is outstanding, the amount in the loan account is not available to help pay for any policy charges. If, after deducting your policy loan, there is not enough net cash surrender value to cover the policy charges, your policy could lapse. Also, whenever the outstanding loan equals or exceeds your policy value after the insured person reaches age 121, the policy will terminate 31 days after we have mailed notice of termination to you (and to any assignee of record at such assignee’s last known address) specifying the amount that must be paid to avoid termination, unless a repayment of at least the amount specified is made within that period.

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 distribution from your policy because of the differential between the loan interest rate and the rate being credited on the special loan account, we reserve the right to increase the rate charged on the loan to a rate that would, in our reasonable judgment, 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.

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Loan Repayments

You can repay all or part of a loan at any time. Each repayment will be allocated among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account as set out below.

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. We process loan repayments as of the day we receive the repayment. Loan repayments received prior to the close of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) will be applied on the same day it was received. Loan repayments received after the close of the NYSE will be applied as of the next business day.

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 optional supplementary benefit riders by contacting the Service Office at 1-800-521-1234. Charges for most riders will be deducted from the policy 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.

Enhanced Cash Value Rider. You may elect to have your policy issued with an optional Enhanced Cash Value Rider. This rider provides an enhanced cash value benefit (in addition to the surrender value) if you surrender the policy within the first nine years. The benefit is equal to a percentage of cumulative premiums paid in the first policy year, up to the Target Premium shown in the policy. The percentage used in each policy year will be specified in the rider form. Since the rider may increase the amount of insurance for which we are at risk, it may increase the amount of the insurance charge described under “Deductions from policy value.” The maximum amount you may borrow from the policy or withdraw from the policy through partial withdrawals is not affected by this rider. This rider can only be elected at the time of application for the policy. This rider may not be available in all states. This rider may not be elected with the Guideline Premium Test.

Policy Split Option Rider. At the time of policy issue, you may elect this rider that will permit the Total Face Amount to be evenly split into two separate policies, one for each insured person, but only if the insured persons get divorced or certain Federal tax law changes occur. The rider may be canceled at any time and it will automatically terminate upon the death of either insured person.

Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider. You may elect to have your policy issued with an optional Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider. This rider provides an additional death benefit payable upon the death of the last surviving insured person. The Return of Premium Death Benefit has an initial value equal to your initial premium times the “Percentage of Premium” you select (which may range between 0% and 100%). We show the Percentage of Premium you select in the policy specifications page. This benefit is only available to you if you elect death benefit Option 1.

Example: Assume that you have chosen a Return of Premium Benefit of 100% of premiums paid to age 121, and the annual premium amount is $10,000. If you pay that premium for 40 years prior to the date of the last surviving insured person’s death, the rider will increase the death benefit paid by $400,000 [40 years x $10,000].

Overloan Protection Rider. This rider will prevent your policy from lapsing on any date if policy debt exceeds the death benefit. The benefit is subject to a number of eligibility requirements relating to, among other things, the number of years the policy has been in force, the attained age of the younger insured person, the death benefit option elected and the tax status of the policy.

When the Overloan Protection Benefit in this rider is invoked, all values in the investment accounts are immediately transferred to the standard fixed account and will continue to grow at the current fixed account interest rate. Transfer fees do not apply to these transfers. Thereafter, policy changes and transactions are limited as set forth in the rider; for example, death benefit increases or decreases, additional premium payments, policy loans, withdrawals, surrender and transfers are no longer allowed. Any outstanding policy debt will remain. Interest will continue to be charged at the policy’s specified loan interest rate, and the policy’s loan account will continue to be credited with the policy’s loan interest credited rate. Any supplementary benefit rider requiring a monthly deduction will automatically be terminated.

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When the Overloan Protection Rider causes the policy to be converted into a fixed policy, there is risk that the Internal Revenue Service could contend that the policy has been effectively terminated and that the outstanding loan balance should be treated as a distribution. Depending on the circumstances, all or part of such deemed distribution may be taxable as income. You should consult a tax adviser as to the risks associated with the Overloan Protection Rider.

Four Year Term Rider. Subject to our underwriting practices, you may be eligible to elect the Four-Year Term Rider at the time of policy issue. This rider provides an additional death benefit if the death of the last surviving insured person occurs during the four-year period following policy issue. In your application for this rider, you will tell us how much term insurance coverage you want on the lives of the insured persons. The benefit will take effect on the Policy Date stated in your policy specifications page and will terminate four years from that date. You may not renew this benefit once it has been terminated.

Example: Assume that your policy’s face amount is $1,000,000. For the first four policy years, the death benefit payable upon the death of the last surviving insured person will be $1,000,000 + [11/9 * $1,000,000] = $2,222,222. Beginning in the fifth policy year, the death benefit payable upon the death of the last surviving insured person will be $1,000,000.

We will reduce the amount of insurance under this benefit proportionally upon the occurrence of any reduction in the Total Face Amount of your policy or upon a partial withdrawal. On receiving due proof of death of the last surviving insured person, we will pay the death benefit amount to the same beneficiary and in the same manner as the proceeds payable under your policy.

Enhanced Yield Fixed Account Rider. You may elect to allocate your premiums or policy value to the enhanced yield fixed account that we offer by rider. Obligations under the enhanced yield fixed account are backed by our general account. We will credit interest at the rate we declare prospectively. The rate of interest will be based on our expectations for the enhanced yield fixed account’s future investment earnings, persistency, mortality, expenses and reinsurance costs and future tax, reserve and capital requirements, but in no event will the minimum amount be less than the rate shown in your policy and as described under “The fixed account options” in this prospectus. Additional transfer restrictions apply to amounts in an enhanced yield fixed account. We currently do not charge a separate fee for this rider.

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 New York 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 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 policy 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 policy 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.

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Distributions for tax purposes include amounts received upon surrender or partial withdrawals and may

include the charges for certain supplementary benefit riders as described below. 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 a 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 a 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 policy 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 policy 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 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).

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Tax Consequences of Electing Certain Supplementary Benefit Riders

Cash value enhancement rider. If you have elected the Enhanced Cash Value Rider, we will not treat the rider charge as a distribution from your life insurance policy for federal income tax purposes, however, such charge will reduce your investment in the policy.

Policy Split Option Rider. If you have elected the Policy Split Option Rider, we will treat the rider charge as a distribution from your life insurance policy for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, such charges may be includible in your taxable income if your policy is a modified endowment contract or if your investment in the contract has been reduced to zero.

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

If the net cash surrender value is insufficient to pay the charges when due your policy can terminate (i.e., “lapse”). For example, this can happen because you haven’t paid enough premium, because the performance of the variable investment or general account options you’ve chosen has been poor, or because of a combination of all factors. Since withdrawals and policy charges reduce your policy value, these also increase the risk of lapse. Policy loans also increase the risk of lapse. There is no guarantee that your policy will not lapse even if you pay your planned premium.

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 may lose money on amounts you invest in a policy. Your policy value will increase or decrease based on the investment performance of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen. The variable investment accounts cover a broad spectrum of investment styles 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 NY, including that the obligations (including under the fixed account option), guarantees, or benefits are subject to the claims-paying ability of

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John Hancock NY. Information about John Hancock NY, including its financial strength ratings, is available upon request from your John Hancock NY representative. Our current financial strength ratings can also be obtained by contacting the Service Office at 1-800-521-1234.

Transfer Risk

There is a risk that you will not be able to transfer your policy value from one variable investment account to another because of limitations on the dollar amount or frequency of transfers you can make. The limitations on transfers out of the fixed account are more restrictive than those that apply to transfers out of variable investment accounts. If you purchase certain supplementary benefit riders you will be subject to special transfer restrictions.

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.

Early Surrender or Withdrawal 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. Depending on the policy value at the time you are considering surrender, there may be little or no surrender value payable to you.

Tax Risks

In order for you to receive the tax benefits extended to life insurance under the 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 buying the policy and before exercising certain rights under the policy.

There are tax risks associated with the election of certain supplementary benefit riders. (See “Tax Consequences of Electing Certain Supplementary Benefit Riders”).

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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 policy 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 NY Service Office or your John Hancock NY 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 policy value.

(a) is the death benefit (excluding the Four Year Term Rider) as of the first day of the Policy Month, divided by 1.0024663; and

(b) is the policy value as of the first day of the Policy Month after the deduction of all other monthly deductions.

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Since the net amount at risk for death benefit Option 1 is based on a formula that includes as factors the death benefit and the policy value, the net amount at risk is affected by the investment performance of the investment accounts chosen, payment of premiums and charges assessed.

If the minimum death benefit is greater than the death benefit (excluding the Four Year Term Rider), the cost of insurance charge will reflect the amount of that additional benefit.

For death benefit Option 2, the net amount at risk is equal to the death benefit (excluding the Four Year Term Rider), divided by 1.0024663.

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 and Face Amount charges help 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 policies. To the extent that the premium and Face Amount charges do not cover total sales expenses, the sales expenses may be recovered from other sources, including the asset-based risk charge and other charges with respect to the policies, or from our general assets. Similarly, administrative expenses not fully recovered by the administrative charge may also be recovered from such other sources. We also may make a profit from any charge and can use any such profits to defray any of our expenses under the policies or for any other proper corporate purpose.

Unless we agree otherwise or you do not have sufficient funds in any fixed account or variable investment accounts, we deduct the monthly deductions from your policy’s variable investment accounts and any fixed account in proportion to the amount of policy value you have in each of those accounts.

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Other Charges We Could Impose in the Future

Except for a portion of the premium charge, we currently make no specific charge for our Federal income taxes. However, if we incur, or expect to incur, income taxes attributable to any subaccount of the Separate 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 accounts. However, we expect that no such charge will be necessary.

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 the following schedule: policy year 1, 83% of the premium paid up to the Target Premium and 5% of any premium paid in excess of Target Premium; policy year 2, 11.5% of the premium paid up to the Target Premium and 5% of any premium paid in excess of Target Premium; policy years 3-10, 9.5% of the premium paid up to the Target Premium and 5% of any premium paid in excess of Target Premium. In addition, JH Distributors will pay compensation in policy years 2-31 of 0.12% of the net cash surrender value and 0.06% of the net cash surrender value in years 31 and thereafter, with the net cash surrender value determined as of the end of each previous policy anniversary. In addition, a broker-dealer may receive compensation in an amount per $1,000 of unscheduled increase in Supplemental Face Amount. 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 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.

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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. A policy will go into default if at the beginning of any policy month the policy’s net cash surrender value would be zero or below after deducting the monthly deductions then due. Therefore, a policy could lapse eventually if increases in policy value (prior to deduction of policy charges) are not sufficient to cover policy charges. See “Premium Due Dates” above.

Reinstatement. By making a written request, you can reinstate a policy that has gone into default and terminated at any time within the three-year period following the date of termination subject to the following conditions:

(a) You must provide to us evidence of the insured person’s insurability that is satisfactory to us; and

(b) You must pay a premium equal to the amount that was required to bring the policy out of default immediately prior to termination, plus the amount needed to keep the policy in force for at least the next three policy months.

If the reinstatement is approved, the date of reinstatement will be the later of the date we approve your request or the date the required payment is received at our Service Office. In addition, any surrender charges will be reinstated to the amount they were at the date of default. The policy value on the date of reinstatement, prior to the crediting of any net premium paid in connection with the reinstatement, will be equal to the policy value on the date the policy terminated. Any policy debt not paid upon termination of a policy will be reinstated if the policy is reinstated.

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

Variations

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 reduction in charges or feature or benefit enhancement 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 Separate Account 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.

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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 NY 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.

When We Pay Policy Proceeds

We will ordinarily pay any death benefit, withdrawal, surrender value or loan within seven days after we receive the last required form or request (and, with respect to the death benefit, 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 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. 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 policy 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 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

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disposal of securities is not reasonably practicable or it is not reasonably practicable to fairly determine the policy value; or (3) the SEC by order permits the delay for the protection of owners. Transfers and allocations of policy 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 net cash 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.

Coverage at and After Age 121

If the policy is still in effect on the policy anniversary nearest the 121st birthday of the younger of the two insured persons (whether or not the younger insured person is alive), the following things will happen (whether or not there is any net cash surrender value):

We will not allow any new loans. However, we will continue to accept loan repayments on existing loans and continue to charge loan interest.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT, DEPOSITOR AND PORTFOLIOS

Depositor

Your policy is issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, 100 Summit Lake Drive, Valhalla, New York 10595.

Registrant

The “registrant” of the policies with the SEC is the John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York Separate Account B, a separate account operated by us under New York 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 NY 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 NY’s other assets. All obligations under the policies (including under any fixed account options), guarantees, or benefits are obligations of John Hancock NY and are subject to its claims paying ability.

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 portfolios’ dividends and distributions in

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additional portfolio shares, except that we will deduct certain additional charges which will reduce your policy value. We describe these charges under “Charges at the portfolio level.” For certain policy years, we also will apply a policy credit to your policy value.

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 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.

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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 NY are in the SAI. The financial statements of John Hancock NY 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 request this information at no cost by calling 1-800-521-1234 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 NY SERVICE OFFICE

In addition to this prospectus, John Hancock NY has filed with the SEC an SAI that contains additional information about John Hancock NY and the Separate Account, including information on our history, services provided to the Separate Account, and the audited financial statements for John Hancock NY 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 NY representative. The SAI may be obtained, without charge, by contacting the John Hancock NY Service Office. You should also contact the John Hancock NY Service Office to request any other information about your policy or to make any inquiries about its NY 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. 811-8329 — 1933 Act File No. 333-148992

EDGAR Contract Identifier No. C000062402