Lincoln Financial Long-Term Insurance Review

Statistically, those of us who live into old age will require some form of extended care during our lifetime. And in light of the ever rising costs of care, getting one of the best long-term care insurance policies could help you safeguard your assets and savings. These policies can also ensure you're looked after according to your specifications, whether you prefer care in-home or in a qualified institution.

Lincoln MoneyGuard is a hybrid long-term care insurance policy that combines the benefits of long-term coverage with life insurance protection. Hybrid life and long-term care insurance could be worth buying if you want a benefit that will pay out regardless of whether you require care (and can afford the higher premiums).

For more on Lincoln Financial's universal life with long-term care policy, read on.

Best long-term care insurance with international benefits

Several companies sell long-term care insurance, but few of them offer international benefits. Lincoln MoneyGuard products, including the popular MoneyGuard II policy, let you keep your benefits even if you move out of the U.S. You can utilize your full long-term care benefit abroad, provided you receive care in a nursing home or residential care facility.

Lincoln Financial long-term insurance pros and cons

Pros explained

No elimination period

Lincoln MoneyGuard II has no elimination periods — for any type of care. That means you can access your long-term care benefits as soon as you need them.

Inflation protection available

Like everything else, the costs of medical services and long-term care continue to rise year-over-year. For an additional cost, you can protect your MoneyGuard long-term care benefits against inflation. If you add inflation protection to your policy, your monthly benefit limits will compound annually on the policy anniversary by 3% or 5%.

Concierge care coordination

Even with long-term care insurance, finding the right services and providers at the lowest cost is tricky. When you purchase a Lincoln MoneyGuard policy, you'll get immediate access to concierge care coordination services, which help you:

• File claims
• Find providers
• Compare the costs of care
• Explore services by location
• Obtain resources to help you communicate with caregivers and loved ones

Cons explained

Low customer satisfaction

There are relatively few customer reviews for Lincoln Financial across third-party review sites. As of the date of this review, Lincoln Financial Group received a total of 103 complaints over the past three years and only 25, mostly negative, reviews on the Better Business Bureau. However, most complaints are about the company's short term disability product.

In the latest J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, Lincoln Financial scored 764 on a 1,000 point scale for overall customer satisfaction, 10 points below the industry average.

Limited customer service hours

Lincoln Financial's customer service is available by phone Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 6 p.m., with no weekend or night phone support. Claims can only be filed by phone Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 5 p.m.

No pricing information online

Like most, if not all, long-term care insurance companies, Lincoln doesn't offer quotes online. That means you'll have to call an agent to get a quote or learn more about pricing.

Lincoln Financial long-term care insurance offerings

Lincoln offers a suite of hybrid life insurance and long-term care policies known as MoneyGuard. MoneyGuard Market Advantage is a variable universal life insurance plan that lets you build your own investment portfolio or use a model portfolio. It includes a rider to pay for qualified long-term care expenses.

MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage is a universal life insurance policy with a long-term care rider. Unlike MoneyGuard Market Advantage, it is not subject to market risk, so benefits are guaranteed. However, there is also no potential for market growth. The policy includes a Benefit Transfer Rider that lets beneficiaries choose between taking the death benefit or increasing their own policy with Lincoln.

Lincoln MoneyGuard II

Lincoln MoneyGuard II is a universal life insurance policy. As such, it provides permanent coverage that doesn't expire as long as you continue to pay the premiums. Like MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage, MoneyGuard II has a no-lapse guarantee. This means that, as long as you make sufficient premium payments, your policy will remain in force even if your cash value isn't enough to fund policy charges (such as the cost of riders).

This policy automatically includes a long-term care acceleration of benefits rider, which pays out a monthly benefit to cover long-term care costs. If you develop a chronic or terminal illness while your policy is in force, a portion of your death benefit can be used to pay for long-term care costs for either two or three years.

Covered services include:

• Adult daycare
• Hospice services
• Assisted living facilities
• Home health care
• Nursing home care
• Alternate care services

For an added cost, you can also modify your policy with two optional riders: extension of benefits and inflation protection. The extension of benefits rider that lets you continue receiving monthly payments for long-term care for an additional two or four years after your policy's long-term care benefits are exhausted. You can also purchase 3% or 5% inflation protection so your benefit grows over time. The cost of these riders is deducted from the policy's cash value.

All MoneyGuard II policies automatically include a basic return of premium benefit. With this benefit, Lincoln will return 80% of your paid premiums if you surrender your policy after making all premium payments. There's also a vested return of premium rider available for an additional cost. This option pays back a percentage (up to 100%) of paid premiums based on the number of years the policy was active.

If you die without using long-term care benefits or borrowing against the policy, your beneficiaries will receive the policy's full death benefit. If you use the long-term care benefits during your lifetime, your beneficiaries will receive a reduced residual death benefit when you die. Upon issuance, the residual death benefit is equal to 5% of the specified coverage amount or $10,000, whichever is less.

Other benefits of the Lincoln MoneyGuard II plan include:

• No medical exams or lab tests required
• Tax-free long-term care reimbursement and death benefit
• Option to pay in full upfront or over time
• No waiting periods for care
• Couples discount

Lincoln Financial long-term care insurance pricing

Lincoln doesn't offer quotes or pricing information on its webpage. To get a quote, you'll need to work with a Lincoln Financial professional at a partner company.

Some of Lincoln's partner companies include:

• Merrill Lynch
• UBS
• Wells Fargo Asset Management
• Cambridge
• Ameriprise Financial

Lincoln offers flexible premiums payment options, allowing clients to make lump sum payments or pay over a period of one to 10 years. Premiums are based on factors like:

• Age
• Medical history
• Coverage amount and duration

A discount is available for couples when both partners purchase MoneyGuard II policies. The discount applies to traditional marriages, civil unions, domestic partnerships and common-law marriages.

Lincoln Financial long-term care insurance financial stability

Lincoln Financial Group is a financially stable company founded in 1905. As of May of 2023, The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company received the following financial strength ratings:

• AM Best: A
• Fitch: A+
• Moody's: A1
• Standard and Poor's: A+

These ratings indicate Lincoln's financial strength and claims-paying are among the best in the industry. However, all credit rating agencies besides Standard and Poor's give Lincoln a negative market segment outlook. This means the long-term care insurance segment may be negatively affected by market trends over the next year.

Lincoln Financial long-term care insurance accessibility

We reviewed Lincoln Financial insurance for long-term care accessibility based on its contact information, user experience and availability by location.

Availability

Lincoln MoneyGuard II is available in all U.S. states except New York. Sales of new MoneyGuard products were suspended in New York in March 2022.

MoneyGuard II is also available in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. And benefits can be used for qualifying services outside of the U.S. and its territories.

MoneyGuard II is available for individuals aged 40-79.

Contact information

Lincoln Financial Insurance lists its contact information under the company directory on its website. You can reach the corporate call center at 877-275-5462. The mailing address is:

Lincoln National Corporation
150 North Radnor-Chester Road
Radnor, PA 19087

You can also contact Long-Term Care support in the following ways:

• By phone at 800-487-1485
• By fax at 800-819-1987
• By email at CustServSupportTeam@LFG.com
• By mail at Lincoln Financial Group, P.O. Box 21008, Greensboro, NC 27401

User experience

MoneyGuard doesn't offer online quotes, and you'll need to work with a Lincoln Financial professional to purchase a policy.

When you purchase a plan, you can set up direct billing so that you never miss a payment. You can file claims online or by phone and set up direct deposit to access funds or get reimbursed. You also have the option of arranging for service providers to bill Lincoln directly.

Lincoln Financial long-term care insurance customer satisfaction

There are few customer reviews about Lincoln's long-term care products across third-party sites. However, most of the reviews available report negative experiences when filing claims for reimbursement for long-term care services. Some customers report having to repeatedly request payment before it is made.

On the Better Business Bureau website, Lincoln Financial Group has an average rating of 1.04 out of 5 stars based on just 24 customer reviews. The company has responded to all 103 complaints filed against it over the past three years, yet most complaints appear to be for the company's short-term disability product.

In J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study, Lincoln Financial Group scored 764 out of a possible 1,000 points for customer satisfaction, about 10 points under the industry average.

However, Lincoln ranked second in the 2022 J.D. Power U.S. Group Life Insurance Study, scoring 815 out of 1,000 possible points based on responses from over 2,000 customers. The study measured customer satisfaction with life insurance providers based on:

• Application and orientation
• Communication
• Interaction
• Price
• Product offerings
• Statements

How we evaluated Lincoln Financial long-term care insurance

We evaluated Lincoln Financial's long-term care insurance offering based factors such as:

• Policy features: We evaluated policy features like inflation protection, concierge care coordination and international benefits.

• Availability: We took into account the availability of policies, both by location and customer age.

• Customer support: We considered the different methods available for contacting Lincoln's long-term care customer support. We also looked at the hours of phone support available.

• User experience: We factored in the user experience, including the ease of applying for a policy and filing claims.

• Customer satisfaction: We combed through reviews from actual customers across multiple third-party rating sites to understand their experiences and satisfaction with Lincoln Financial Group and Lincoln MoneyGuard. We also considered the company's customer satisfaction ratings in the latest J.D. Power U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study and U.S. Group Life Insurance Study.

Summary of Money's Lincoln Financial Long-Term Care Insurance review

Lincoln Financial's long-term care insurance products offer life insurance and long-term care benefits under one policy. Lincoln MoneyGuard II features no waiting periods for care, optional protection against inflation, a built-in benefit that pays you back your premiums if you surrender your policy and customized tools to help you find the care you need.

Optional policy riders let you extend benefits and protect your investment against inflation, and flexible premiums allow you to pay for the policy in a way that fits your budget. Across third-party review sites, customer satisfaction with Lincoln appears to be low, but the company scored highly in J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Group Life Insurance Study.