Lincoln Financial Group Life Insurance Review (2026)

Lincoln Financial Group (LFG) is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation, and its affiliates. Lincoln Financial Group’s policies are issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, and in New York, under the Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York.

If you’re researching Lincoln Financial Group — whether you’ve been pitched a policy or you’re comparing carriers — this review will give you an honest, broker-level perspective on where Lincoln excels and where other carriers may serve you better. We quote Lincoln regularly for indexed universal life (IUL) and hybrid long-term care insurance, so this isn’t a surface-level overview — it’s informed by years of running actual illustrations and placing policies with Lincoln alongside every major competitor.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group has been around since 1905 — named after President Abraham Lincoln with permission from his son, Robert Todd Lincoln. That’s not just marketing trivia. It tells you something about the company’s DNA: they were built on dependability and have navigated over a century of market cycles, including the Great Depression without a single layoff.

Today, LFG is one of the largest life insurance companies in the U.S., with approximately 9,800 employees and headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania. The company was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere for three consecutive years (2022-2024).

Financial Ratings & Strength

Lincoln Financial is a top rated life insurance company. Here’s where things stand as of early 2026:

Important context: AM Best downgraded Lincoln from A+ (Superior) to A (Excellent) in November 2022, driven by balance sheet concerns related to their variable annuity block and reinsurance concentration. However, in February 2025, AM Best revised Lincoln’s outlook from negative to stable, signaling that the company has taken meaningful steps to shore up its financial position. This is a carrier trending in the right direction.

Rating Agency	Rating	Interpretation	Outlook
A.M. Best	A	Excellent (3rd highest tier)	Stable (revised Feb 2025)
Fitch	A+	Strong	Stable
Moody’s	A1	Good (5th highest tier)	Stable
Standard & Poor’s	AA-	Very Strong	Stable
COMDEX Ranking	90	Top 10% of all rated insurers	—

These are strong ratings. An A from AM Best and AA- from S&P means Lincoln has the financial reserves and claims-paying ability to honor its obligations for decades to come. For a deeper dive into how these ratings work and how Lincoln compares to the top-rated carriers, see our Top 25 Highest Rated Insurance Companies guide.

What Lincoln Financial Does Best

We work with dozens of carriers and run hundreds of illustrations every year. Here’s where Lincoln consistently shows up as a strong contender:

Product Category	Lincoln’s Strength	Our Assessment
Hybrid LTC (MoneyGuard)	Zero elimination period, 2025 price reductions, new 80% cash indemnity option, Benefit Transfer Rider for couples	Top 3 — we actively recommend this
IUL (Accumulation)	Multiple index options, competitive caps, strong for retirement income distribution	Competitive — worth illustrating alongside top IUL carriers
Term Life	Streamlined underwriting (TermAccel), coverage up to $2.5M	Solid but not industry-leading for most applicants
VUL	Extensive investment options, new AssetEdge 2025 with overloan protection	Strong product line for the right client
Whole Life	—	Not offered. Look at our best whole life companies

Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL)

Lincoln Financial ranks among the best indexed universal life insurance companies and is a carrier we regularly illustrate for clients focused on tax-advantaged retirement income, supplemental income strategies, and IUL retirement planning.

Lincoln’s IUL Product Lineup

• Lincoln LifeReserve Indexed UL Accumulator: Designed for cash value growth. This is Lincoln’s primary accumulation product, offering multiple index-linked crediting options with downside protection through guaranteed floors. If you’re focused on building tax-deferred cash value for cash value accumulation, this is the one to look at.
• Lincoln WealthAdvantage Indexed UL: Offers premium flexibility and competitive index-linked returns. Broader index selection and designed for clients who want both protection and growth potential.
• Lincoln WealthPreserve Survivorship Indexed UL: Covers two lives, paying out upon the second death. Best suited for estate planning situations where couples want IUL-based wealth transfer.

How Lincoln’s IUL Works

IUL policies work by providing permanent life insurance coverage with cash value growth linked to the performance of market indexes like the S&P 500 — but you’re not directly invested in the market. Your cash value earns interest based on a crediting formula tied to index performance, with a guaranteed floor (typically 0-1%) protecting you from market losses. Growth is subject to a cap or participation rate that limits your upside.

Lincoln’s IUL products offer several crediting strategies, and the specific caps, floors, and participation rates vary by product and change periodically. This is exactly why we recommend getting a current illustration rather than relying on published rates — they shift, and last year’s numbers may not reflect what’s available today.

For a closer look at how IUL stacks up against other permanent life insurance types, see our IUL vs other life insurance types comparison, including IUL vs VUL.

Hybrid Long-Term Care: Lincoln MoneyGuard

This is where Lincoln Financial truly stands out. The MoneyGuard product line is one of the original hybrid LTC solutions — introduced in 1987 — and the 2025 update has made it one of the most compelling options in the market.

Here’s why we consider Lincoln MoneyGuard a top 3 hybrid LTC recommendation:

What Makes MoneyGuard Different

Zero elimination period. Most hybrid LTC policies require a 90-day waiting period before benefits kick in. At a national average of roughly $400/day for care, that’s $36,000 out of your pocket before the policy pays a dime. Lincoln MoneyGuard has a zero-day elimination period for both home care and facility care. Benefits begin as soon as you qualify. This is a genuine differentiator that matters when it counts.

New for 2025: 80% cash indemnity option. MoneyGuard historically required reimbursement — meaning you’d submit receipts and wait for approval. The 2025 update introduced an 80% cash indemnity option, which pays a fixed monthly benefit without requiring receipt submission. This is a significant improvement. While competitors like Nationwide CareMatters II and Securian SecureCare offer 100% cash indemnity, Lincoln’s 80% option — combined with its zero elimination period and 2025 price reductions — makes it highly competitive overall.

2025 price reductions. Lincoln substantially lowered MoneyGuard pricing in early 2025, passing along benefits from the higher interest rate environment. This moved MoneyGuard from overpriced relative to competitors back into serious contention.

Benefit Transfer Rider for couples. If both spouses purchase MoneyGuard policies, unused LTC benefits from the first spouse to pass away can transfer to the surviving spouse at no additional cost. This is built-in, not an add-on. For couples planning together, this effectively expands your total benefit pool.

Lincoln MoneyGuard Product Options

Feature	MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage (2025)	MoneyGuard Market Advantage
Policy Type	Universal Life with LTC rider	Variable Universal Life with LTC rider
Cash Value Growth	Guaranteed 2% credited interest rate	Market-driven (variable investment options)
Issue Ages	40-80	40-80
Elimination Period	Zero days	Zero days
LTC Benefit Periods	3, 4, 5, or 6 years	3, 4, 5, or 6 years
Inflation Protection	3% or 5% compound	3% or 5% compound
Benefit Payment	100% reimbursement or 80% cash indemnity (new 2025)	Reimbursement
Premium Structure	Single-pay or 3-10 year pay	Single-pay or flexible
Couples Discount	Yes	Yes
Benefit Transfer Rider	Included at no additional cost	Included at no additional cost
Return of Premium	80% or 100% options	Available
Residual Death Benefit	Yes — even after LTC benefits exhausted (lesser of 5% of face or $10,000)	Yes
Market Risk	None — guaranteed	Yes — subject to market fluctuations
Available In	All states except NY (MoneyGuard Reserve in NY)	All states except NY

Our Recommendation on MoneyGuard

For most clients exploring hybrid LTC, we recommend the MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage over the Market Advantage. The guaranteed nature of the Fixed Advantage — no market risk, guaranteed benefits, predictable premiums — makes it the more reliable planning tool. The Market Advantage introduces investment risk to what should be a protective asset, and for most people, the certainty matters more than the upside potential.

According to widely available statistics on long-term care, people over the age of 65 have around a 50% chance of requiring long-term care. The younger you are when getting your LTC policy, the lower your long-term care insurance rates will be.

Term Life Insurance

Lincoln offers two term products: TermAccel Level Term and LifeElements Level Term.

TermAccel Level Term is Lincoln’s streamlined option — coverage from $100,000 to $2.5 million, term lengths of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years, with a simplified application process that may not require lab work. Best suited for ages 18-50. Not available in New York.

LifeElements Level Term targets higher coverage needs ($2.5 million+) and is designed for larger cases and high-net-worth clients, with issue ages best suited for 45+.

Both products offer convertible term life insurance, allowing you to convert all or a portion of the face amount to permanent coverage before the end of the term or by age 70, whichever comes first. Additional riders include an accelerated death benefit rider, waiver of premium rider, and child term rider.

Lincoln’s term products are solid but not where they differentiate themselves from the pack. If term life is your primary need, we recommend comparing Lincoln alongside the carriers in our term life insurance guide. Understanding the difference between term and whole life insurance is also important before making a decision.

Universal Life Insurance

Lincoln provides several universal life options for clients who need guaranteed lifetime coverage:

• Lincoln LifeGuarantee UL: Lifetime coverage with guaranteed premiums and a guaranteed death benefit. This is a straightforward protection product — no cash value accumulation play here.
• Lincoln LifeCurrent UL: Flexible premiums and death benefit options, with cash value growth at guaranteed or declared rates. More flexibility than the LifeGuarantee, but performance depends on interest rate environment.
• Lincoln LifeGuarantee Survivorship UL: Covers two lives, paying out upon the second death. A common tool in estate planning for couples looking to fund legacy goals or cover estate tax obligations.

Universal life can be customized with riders for long-term care, critical illness, and more. For a deeper comparison of how UL stacks up against whole life, see our whole life vs universal life guide.

Variable Universal Life Insurance (VUL)

Lincoln has one of the more robust variable universal life insurance product lines in the industry, including the updated AssetEdge VUL (2025) with enhanced investment flexibility, new hedged equity options, and an Enhanced Overloan Protection Endorsement.

VUL policies provide permanent coverage with cash value tied directly to market-based sub-accounts — functioning similar to mutual funds inside your policy. Unlike IUL, there’s no floor protecting you from losses, but there’s also no cap limiting your upside. Lincoln’s VUL products include individual, survivorship, and executive benefit options.

We don’t typically quote Lincoln for VUL, but if you’re exploring variable life insurance, Lincoln’s product line is worth evaluating. For a comparison of how VUL and IUL differ, see our IUL vs VUL guide.

What Lincoln Financial Doesn’t Offer

Lincoln Financial does not sell whole life insurance. This is worth stating clearly because it’s a meaningful gap depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

If you’re looking for guaranteed, predictable cash value growth with tax-free policy loans, annual dividends, and the ability to build financial infrastructure that works as a personal banking system, you need a carrier that offers whole life. Lincoln isn’t it.

This doesn’t mean Lincoln is a bad company — it means they serve a different purpose. Lincoln’s strength is in IUL for retirement income and MoneyGuard for long-term care protection. But if your goal is to build the kind of cash value infrastructure that banks and corporations use — what we call Volume-Based Banking — you’re looking at a different set of carriers entirely.

For those exploring whole life-based strategies, see our guides on the best whole life insurance companies and the top infinite banking companies.

Life Insurance Riders

Lincoln Financial offers a range of riders depending on the policy type. Not all riders are available on all products, and availability varies by state:

• Accelerated Benefits Rider (with Critical Illness Coverage): Access a portion of your death benefit if diagnosed with a qualifying critical illness or condition.
• Accelerated Benefits Rider (Terminal Illness): Pays out a portion of the death benefit for a qualifying terminal illness diagnosis.
• Disability Waiver of Monthly Deductions: After a 6-month elimination period, waives cost of insurance, expense charges, and rider charges if the insured becomes permanently disabled.
• Guaranteed Insurability Rider: Provides the opportunity to purchase additional coverage at specified ages or life events (marriage, birth of a child) without additional underwriting. A must-have if you’re considering life insurance for children.
• Supplemental Term Insurance Rider: Adds 10, 15, or 20-year term coverage to a permanent policy, with conversion options.
• Enhanced Overloan Protection Endorsement (New for 2025): Available on the AssetEdge VUL products, this helps prevent policy lapse on heavily loaned policies at no upfront cost.

Customer Experience

Lincoln Financial’s customer experience is a mixed picture — strong on some metrics, average on others.

What the data says: According to NAIC complaint data, Lincoln draws fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size. That’s a positive signal — it means policyholders aren’t running into disproportionate service issues. Lincoln ranked No. 14 out of 22 companies in J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Life Insurance Study for overall customer satisfaction — middle of the pack.

The practical reality: Lincoln does not offer direct online quoting or purchasing. You’ll need to work with a financial professional to get a policy. For some people, that’s a drawback. From our perspective as brokers, that’s actually fine — life insurance, especially permanent products, shouldn’t be purchased online without professional guidance. The product complexity warrants a conversation.

What we see in practice: Lincoln’s underwriting process is generally smooth, their illustration software is reliable, and their back-office operations are professional. As agents who interact with carrier service teams regularly, Lincoln’s team is competent and responsive.

Our Verdict: Who Should Consider Lincoln Financial?

Lincoln Financial is a strong fit if you…	Look elsewhere if you…
Need hybrid long-term care insurance (MoneyGuard is top 3)	Want whole life insurance (Lincoln doesn’t offer it)
Want IUL for tax-advantaged retirement income	Want to build infinite banking or self-banking infrastructure
Are a couple looking for LTC protection with benefit transfer	Want 100% cash indemnity LTC (consider Nationwide or Securian instead)
Need high-face-amount term coverage ($2.5M+)	Want the lowest term rates at standard face amounts
Value financial strength and a 100+ year track record	Want to buy life insurance entirely online without an agent

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lincoln Financial Group a good life insurance company?

Yes. Lincoln Financial holds an A (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best and an AA- (Very Strong) from Standard & Poor’s. The company has been in business since 1905 and draws fewer consumer complaints than expected for its size. Lincoln is particularly strong for indexed universal life (IUL) and hybrid long-term care insurance through its MoneyGuard product line.

Does Lincoln Financial offer whole life insurance?

No. Lincoln Financial does not sell whole life insurance. Their permanent life insurance products include indexed universal life (IUL), variable universal life (VUL), and guaranteed universal life (GUL). If you need whole life insurance — particularly for infinite banking or cash value accumulation strategies — you’ll need to look at carriers like MassMutual, Guardian, Penn Mutual, or New York Life. See our best whole life insurance companies guide.

What is Lincoln MoneyGuard?

Lincoln MoneyGuard is a hybrid life insurance and long-term care product. It combines a universal life insurance policy with a qualified long-term care rider, so you get LTC coverage if you need it and a death benefit for your beneficiaries if you don’t. MoneyGuard is notable for its zero elimination period, meaning benefits begin immediately when you qualify — unlike most hybrid LTC policies that impose a 90-day waiting period.

How much does Lincoln MoneyGuard cost?

MoneyGuard pricing varies based on your age, gender, benefit period (3-6 years), inflation protection option, and whether you choose single-pay or installment payments over 3-10 years. Lincoln substantially reduced MoneyGuard pricing in 2025. For a personalized quote, contact us for a free comparison — we’ll illustrate MoneyGuard alongside other top hybrid LTC carriers so you can compare.

Is Lincoln Financial better than Northwestern Mutual or New York Life?

It depends entirely on what you need. Lincoln excels at IUL and hybrid LTC but doesn’t offer whole life insurance. Northwestern Mutual and New York Life are among the best whole life companies and are better choices for clients seeking guaranteed cash value growth, dividends, and whole life-based strategies. The best approach is to compare all three for your specific situation — which is exactly what an independent broker like us can do.

Can I borrow from my Lincoln Financial life insurance policy?

Yes, if you have a permanent life insurance policy (IUL, VUL, or UL) with accumulated cash value. Life insurance policy loans are generally tax-free under IRC 7702 and don’t require credit checks or approval — you’re borrowing against your own cash value. However, outstanding loans plus interest will reduce your death benefit. Term policies do not have cash value and therefore do not allow loans.

What happened to Lincoln Financial’s AM Best rating?

In November 2022, AM Best downgraded Lincoln from A+ (Superior) to A (Excellent) due to balance sheet concerns related to their variable annuity block and reinsurance concentration. However, in February 2025, AM Best revised Lincoln’s outlook from negative to stable, reflecting improved financial performance and management actions. Lincoln remains a well-rated, financially sound insurer.

Is Lincoln Financial life insurance available in New York?

Lincoln Financial’s life insurance products are issued in New York through Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York. However, not all products are available in every state. The TermAccel product, for example, is not available in New York. The MoneyGuard product available in New York is the MoneyGuard Reserve version.