Lincoln Heritage life insurance

Overview

Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Company sells one main product: Funeral Advantage, a small whole life policy meant to pay for a funeral and other final expenses. It is one of the best-known names in final expense insurance: what it covers and costs because of its television advertising, and it ranked #46 among U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $710.4 million in premiums and a 0.45% market share. It files with the NAIC as a single company rather than as part of a larger group.

Despite the similar name, Lincoln Heritage has no connection to Lincoln Financial Group (The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company). If you own a Lincoln Heritage or Funeral Advantage policy, contact Lincoln Heritage in Phoenix, not Lincoln Financial, and vice versa.

The insurer is owned by Londen Insurance Group, Inc., a privately held, family-owned holding company in Phoenix, Arizona, which owns the Lincoln Heritage and Funeral Advantage trademarks. The operating insurance company is domiciled in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln Heritage says it has more than 1 million policies in force with over $11 billion of in-force policy value, as of 2025.

History

Lincoln Heritage dates its business to 1963. The Londen Insurance Group's corporate profile says it was founded that year by Jack Londen, who had started out as a final expense agent while in college; he and his son Tom later acquired and consolidated a large number of smaller life insurers. The company describes itself as "agent-founded" and stresses private ownership as one of its core philosophies, saying it allows a longer-term view than a publicly traded company.

Lincoln Heritage has stayed a final expense specialist throughout. It built its Funeral Advantage program around two services that go beyond the insurance itself: a My Final Wishes Profile where policyholders record their funeral preferences, and Personal Funeral Advisors who help families arrange services and compare funeral prices at the time of death.

Its financial strength rating has risen in recent years. AM Best revised its outlook to positive in July 2024 and in July 2025 upgraded the company to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent), citing three consecutive years of record operating, underwriting and investment earnings after death claims fell from their pandemic-era highs in 2022.

Life insurance products

Funeral Advantage is a whole life policy with these published features:

• Coverage up to $35,000, with rates the company says start at $15 a month.
• Issue ages up to 85.
• No medical exam. Eligibility is decided by a few health questions on a one-page application. The company says it accepts 99% of applicants, including many with pre-existing conditions.
• Level premiums for life. Rates never increase, and coverage cannot be cancelled as long as premiums are paid. There is no term limit.
• Modified coverage for some applicants. People who do not meet the health requirements for full, immediate coverage may be offered a modified policy that pays limited benefits for non-accidental death during the first years. This works like a graded death benefit.
• Standard contract terms. A two-year the two-year contestability period and a two-year suicide exclusion with refund of premium (one year in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri and North Dakota).

The death benefit is paid to the beneficiary named on the policy, who may use it for any purpose, including funeral expenses. Funeral Advantage is not tied to any funeral home, which makes it different from a preneed contract bought through a funeral home. See burial insurance vs final expense vs preneed for the differences.

The free Personal Funeral Advisor service is included with every policy. The company says advisors are not affiliated with any funeral home. Families are asked to call them before making arrangements, so the advisors can help avoid overspending. Lincoln Heritage reports that the service saved policyholders' families more than $8.7 million in funeral costs in the prior year.

Lincoln Heritage does not sell term life, larger whole life policies, universal life or annuities to consumers. Funeral Advantage is designed to cover end-of-life costs, not to replace income.

Buying and service

You can request a quote online, by phone or in response to a TV offer. A licensed Lincoln Heritage agent then follows up to complete the application. The quote form says that by submitting your information you agree to be contacted even if you are on a do-not-call list. Lincoln Heritage recruits and trains its own final expense agents, and the site is also available in Spanish.

Policyholders can register at service.lhlic.com to view policy details, make payments, manage beneficiaries and sign service forms online. Customer service is at 800-438-7180, or by email at [email protected]. Policy payments go through 800-930-7459. Phone hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on weekdays and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Claims

Families can file a death claim online through Lincoln Heritage's claims portal (hosted on a Swiss Re platform), with separate entry points for family members and funeral homes. They can also call 855-706-2396, email [email protected] or fax 602-808-8845. As with any claim, expect to provide a certified death certificate and a claimant statement (see documents you need for a life insurance claim).

Deaths in the first two years can be reviewed against the application answers before payment. Under modified coverage, a non-accidental death in the early years pays only the limited benefit. If a Personal Funeral Advisor is helping arrange the funeral, the family should call the advisor line on the policyholder's card first.

Ratings and reputation

• AM Best: A (Excellent) with a stable outlook, affirmed in August 2026 according to AM Best's rating profile for the company, after an upgrade from A- in July 2025. At the upgrade AM Best cited a very strong balance sheet and return on equity above 20% over one, three and five years. The company is not rated by S&P, Moody's or Fitch, as far as its own materials show.
• J.D. Power: Lincoln Heritage was not among the 23 brands ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study.
• Regulatory: In September 2023, the Connecticut Insurance Department fined Lincoln Heritage $4,500 after a market conduct examination of 2021 business found three agents selling for the company without the required appointment.

Final expense policies in general cost more per $1,000 of coverage than fully underwritten insurance, because the insurer asks few health questions and the policies are small. Lead-generation advertising and follow-up sales calls are a common source of consumer frustration across the final expense market; see Life insurance ads on TV: what "$9.95 a month" buys.

Who it suits

Lincoln Heritage suits older adults, up to age 85, who want a modest whole life policy to pay for a funeral, can answer a few health questions, and value help arranging services. It suits less well anyone who needs more than $35,000 of coverage, lives in New York or Washington, wants to compare quotes from several insurers without an agent's follow-up, or is young and healthy enough to buy cheaper term or fully underwritten coverage.

• Strengths: No medical exam and a short application; level premiums and lifetime coverage; a free funeral-planning and price-comparison service; AM Best rating upgraded to A (Excellent) in 2025.
• Weaknesses: One product with a $35,000 cap; not available in New York or Washington; modified-benefit policies pay only limited amounts for illness-related deaths in the first years; often confused with the unrelated Lincoln Financial.

How to contact Lincoln Heritage