Lincoln Financial Life Insurance Review

The Details

The Good

Affordable for older applicants. Life insurance gets more expensive the older you are when you apply. With that in mind, Lincoln’s TermAccel term life policy is a superb option for people in their 40s or 50s thanks to prices below industry averages. 

No-med option available. Lincoln’s TermAccel policy does not require a medical exam if you meet certain requirements — mainly, if you don’t use tobacco. Additionally, there’s no med-exam when renewing your term policy or converting to a permanent one. 

Very fast turnaround. TermAccel uses accelerated underwriting, meaning most policies get approved within days, not weeks. This makes Lincoln Financial one of the fastest ways to apply for life insurance in the industry.

Benefits marijuana users. For people with low-level health conditions or habits, including marijuana users, Lincoln offers better rates than the competition.

The Bad

Expensive permanent policies. Most other Lincoln offerings are quite pricey, especially for younger applicants. The permanent life policies are especially cost-prohibitive for most people.  

Few online tools. If you were hoping to educate yourself on life insurance, speak to a live representative, or simply receive a personalized quote you won’t be able to on Lincoln’s website.

The Breakdown

Lincoln Financial has term and permanent life insurance policies available. 

Their TermAccel term life product provides level premiums and accelerated underwriting, so potential policy owners can attain coverage quickly without the need for a medical exam. 

Meanwhile, LifeElements is a straightforward term life policy, though it will require a med exam. 

Permanent life insurance policies include a variety of universal life products. There are no whole life policies available from Lincoln Financial.

Term life insurance

Of Lincoln Financial’s two term life products — TermAccel and TermElements — we recommend TermAccel for shoppers because it boasts a speedy approval process and often requires no medical exam.

Lincoln TermAccel

TermAccel uses accelerated underwriting, so decisions are very fast — only two days of waiting, on average. Unless you’re a tobacco user, there’s no need for a medical exam.

It’s important to note that tobacco users over 50 years old are not eligible for 30-year terms. For non-tobacco, it’s 55 years. If you enjoy using tobacco regularly, you may have to schedule a medical exam.

Marijuana users can benefit from this policy, but only if the policyholder gains no income from a marijuana-related industry.

Available riders

• Accelerated death benefit. This pays out part of the death benefit if the policyholder becomes terminally ill and has six months left to live. There is a one-time charge if this rider is used.

• Children’s term rider. For an extra cost, provides level term coverage for all children of the policyholder, up to $15,000 per child. There’s no additional charge per child.

• Waiver of premium benefit. Also for an additional cost, this rider waives premium payments if the policy owner becomes totally disabled.

Temporary coverage

Policyholders can receive up to $500,000 temporary coverage during the time of underwriting.

Policy conversion

TermAccel customers can convert to a permanent whole life policy before the end of the term limit, or before the policy owner turns 70, whichever comes first.

Rate reconsideration

TermAccel customers do not have the option to reconsider their premiums. To improve a health rating on an existing policy, you’ll need to apply for a brand new policy.

Lincoln LifeElements

LifeElements is a standard term life policy with the same term lengths, temporary coverage amount, and available riders as TermAccel. 

Like TermAccel, it’s possible to waive the medical exam, though there is a caveat — you’ll need to apply through Lincoln’s LincXpress app and you can only apply for up to $1 million of coverage. 

After the third year of your term, you can reduce your death benefit if you need to.

Policy conversion

Your coverage can continue after the term’s end, but the death benefit decreases. In some cases, the premium will remain the same for the next three years — after that, it increases annually. In other cases, premiums will increase after the coverage amount decreases.

Otherwise, like with TermAccel, policyholders can convert to a permanent whole life policy before the end of the term limit, or before the policy owner turns 70, without taking a medical exam. 

Rate reconsideration

After a year, you have the option to lower your premiums if your health improves. The newly reconsidered rate is based on the original age you applied. Lincoln pays for the medical exam.

Permanent life insurance

Lincoln Financial offers several universal, indexed universal, and variable universal policies that build cash value over time. Some are connected to a stock option. There’s also a “survivorship” product that covers two people under the same policy.

These types of policies are often confusing, very pricey, and a pain to deal with, to the point that they’re not worth the hassle.

We generally do not recommend them unless you have complex finances. Due to the high costs involved, we advise you purchase a regular term life insurance policy and look into other investment options instead.

→ Learn more about how universal life compares to other policy types.

Lincoln Financial’s accelerated term life solution, TermAccel, is a superb option if you’re below the age of 60, or if you’re in relatively healthy shape and looking to shop early.

Here’s a sample rate based on a healthy male applying for a $500,000, 20-year policy:

TermAccel monthly premiums are well below the industry average for every age group. If you're older or younger, Lincoln is substantially cheaper than the competition. 

In particular, those in their 50s will pay very competitive rates compared to the competition. That’s impressive because term life policies with accelerated underwriting — at this price range, for those age groups — are pretty rare. 

Unfortunately, those over the age of 60 are not eligible for TermAccel and must shop for another policy. 

→ Read more about life insurance for seniors. 

Marijuana users in particular will benefit from a TermAccel policy since Lincoln treats that particular cohort as a non-tobacco class, which is a rare position among life insurance carriers.

Since there’s no penalty for using marijuana, anyone who fits into this group will pay better rates compared to the competition.

Lincoln AccelTerm is also best for the following groups:

• Marijuana smokers

• Young adults

• Older adults (below age 60)

People who live in California, Illinois, Louisiana, and Maine should consider TermAccel as well since there are no other major life insurance products with accelerated underwriting available in these states.

→ Read more about how where you live can affect your life insurance policy.

Potential applicants with more complicated medical histories, such as diabetes, cancer, and HIV/AIDS are more likely to be denied a TermAccel policy. In that case, Lincoln Financial has an alternative term policy in its LifeElements product, although that will require a medical exam.

To gauge trustworthiness, we look at ratings from the top credit firms in the industry, which measure the financial stability of a carrier. Essentially, they predict a company's ability to pay out when it’s time to file a claim. 

With high ratings, over a century in business, and several million customers with active policies, shoppers should feel confident choosing a policy from Lincoln Financial.

Here's how Lincoln Financial stacks up:

• Year founded: 1905

• A.M. Best: A+

• Moody’s: A1

• Standard & Poor’s: AA-

A.M. Best, which specializes in the insurance industry, gives Lincoln Financial an A+ grade (effective November 3, 2021), one of the best ratings possible. Carriers with a B grade or lower are more vulnerable to risk.

Moody’s scores Lincoln Financial an A1, making it a stable, financially strong company. Companies with an A rating and above are subject to low credit risk. 

Standard & Poor’s grades Lincoln Financial an AA-. That means their ability to meet financial obligations is considered very strong. Companies are rated on a scale from AAA to D. The higher the rating, the more likely a company is to pay its debts.

Unfortunately, there aren't many customer reviews available despite Lincoln Financial’s age. Fortunately, the one third-party rating we do have is fairly positive.

• Consumers Advocate: N/A

• Consumer Affairs: N/A

• NAIC complaint index: 0.26

The only available score is from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), an organization of insurance regulators that tracks the amount of complaints sent to state insurance departments. Its complaint index reveals how many customers have filed grievances, with a score of 0 meaning there weren’t enough to track, and a score of 1 representing the baseline average. Lincoln Financial’s low score of 0.26 means the NAIC has barely received any complaints.

Your personal experience with Lincoln Financial will differ, but for the most customers will speak with an agent over the phone to apply. 

You’ll find easy-to-read policy information on Lincoln Financial’s website, and a coverage calculator, but not much else. There’s no online quote tool, live chat option, email contact, or much else in the way of digital tools. 

For TermAccel, you must apply through Policygenius.

Application process

TermAccel applicants, unless they use tobacco, won’t have to contend with labs or exams. Instead, they answer basic medical questions, go over medical, prescription, and insurance histories, and figure out the best options with a licensed Policygenius expert over the phone.

Turnaround time

It takes two to three days to make a decision for TermAccel customers. That’s really speedy. On average, life insurance policies take around six weeks from application to active policy.

Policy delivery

Lincoln Financial customers receive their policies electronically.

Policygenius offers insurance policies from many of the nation's top insurers, who pay us a commission for our services. However, all editorial choices are made independently.