Pros Explained

• Includes funeral price-shopping support at no cost: With a policy from Lincoln Heritage, your family will get the support of a dedicated representative from the Funeral Consumer Guardian Society (FCGS) to help find the best prices for funeral services. The FCGS saves beneficiaries an average of $1,850 on traditional funeral services.
• No medical exam required: You can get coverage by answering just a few health questions, and most people are accepted.
• Approved claims paid within 24 hours: Checks are issued within 24 hours and then you just have to allow time for them to arrive in the mail.

Cons Explained

• There may be a waiting period: Lincoln Heritage notes that some applicants with health issues may only qualify for a modified plan, which typically comes with a two- or three-year waiting period, depending on your age. If you die during the waiting period, your beneficiaries will receive your premiums paid plus a small percentage but not the full death benefit.
• No online quotes: While you can start a quote online, you’ll need to wait for someone to reach out to give you your exact price.
• No online claims: You can only begin a claim by phone, email, fax, or mail.
• Roughly average number of complaints with the NAIC: Lincoln Heritage received about an average number of complaints with the NAIC in 2021. In 2020, they received more complaints than average, and in 2019, slightly fewer complaints than average. This is makes for a mixed, middle of the road record at best.

Complaint Index

Lincoln Heritage had a concerning number of consumer complaints over the last three years. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) annually reports a complaint index for each insurer that shows how many complaints a company received based on its size. An index of 1.00 indicates an expected number of complaints given the company’s size. An index higher than 1.00, however, indicates the company received more complaints than expected.

In 2021, Lincoln Heritage had a complaint index of about average of 1.02, in 2020 they had a poor index of 1.57, and in 2019 they had a slightly positive index of 0.91. This complaint record is mixed at best and slightly worrying to say the least. Top life insurance providers tend to receive fewer complaints relative to their size and have lower complaint indexes.

Third-Party Ratings

Lincoln Heritage gets high marks for financial stability, but other companies that offer final expense coverage fare better. Lincoln Heritage received an A- (Excellent) financial strength rating from AM Best, an independent credit rating agency focused on the insurance industry.

AM Best ratings are important because they indicate the ability of a company to fulfill its insurance obligations now and in the future. When comparing life insurance companies, you’ll want to select one that can reliably pay claims. That’s why we don’t typically recommend any companies that fall below A- rating. While Lincoln Heritage received an acceptable grade, other companies are rated A, A+, or A++.

Policies Available

Final Expense Insurance

Final expense insurance is a type of whole life insurance that provides permanent coverage and a small death benefit designed to cover end-of-life costs. The policy never expires as long as premiums are paid, and it builds a cash value component. Lincoln Heritage offers up to $20,000 in coverage with rates based on your answers to a handful of health questions. While the company notes that most people with health issues will qualify, this is not a guaranteed issue policy.

Available Riders

Riders are add-ons to insurance policies that allow you to customize your coverage to meet your needs. For example, some riders provide living benefits that allow you to access some of the death benefit if you are diagnosed with certain conditions. Others allow you to pause premium payments. Lincoln Heritage offers one free program and an optional add-on.

Price-Shopping and Family Support Services

While not a traditional rider, this program is included with every policy at no additional cost. It gives beneficiaries access to a dedicated representative from the Funeral Consumer Guardian Society who can help your family save money on funeral costs.

Accidental Death Benefit Rider

Available as an add-on, this rider provides up to an additional $100,000 death benefit if the cause of your death is deemed an accident.

Customer Service

You can manage your policy or make payments through your . If you need further assistance, you can also reach customer support on weekdays between the hours of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. MST or on Saturday between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. MST. Depending on your needs, use one of the phone numbers or email addresses below.

	Phone	Email
Claims	855-706-2396	claims@lhlic.com
Customer Service	800-438-7180	service@lhlic.com
Payments	800-930-7459	N/A

Methodology

We designed a comprehensive ranking methodology based on consumer priorities and life insurance company fundamentals to rank more than 90 insurers across five general categories: financial stability, customer satisfaction, product and feature variety, the overall buying experience, and cost. In order to do this, we collected over 5,000 data points and scored each company based on 55 metrics. We grouped metrics by category to see how insurers performed in each; we then weighted category scores to determine how companies performed overall.

To learn more, read our full Life Insurance Methodology.