Lincoln Financial Group

When purchasing life insurance coverage, it is important to determine what type of policy – as well as how much in death benefit (face amount) – will be right for you and your survivors. Certainly, the purpose of having life insurance is to ensure that those who are left behind can go on, especially during an already difficult time for them. So, the last thing that anyone wants to do is leave the people that they care about in a tough financial bind.

Therefore, the purchase of a good, solid life insurance policy can help to ensure that income will continue, debts will be paid off, and survivors will not have to drastically change – or reduce – their current standard of living.

In addition to the actual life insurance policy, an extremely important component of choosing your policy is the insurance carrier through which you purchase it. Just knowing that the company will be there when you need them can provide you – and your loved ones – with a substantial amount of peace of mind both now and in the future.

Because of this, it is essential to review the underlying insurance company before moving forward with the purchase of any type or amount of life insurance coverage. This can help you to better ensure that the policy will be able to perform as it promises to. Reading company reviews can assist with this process, as can reviewing the life insurer ratings that are provided by insurance company rating agencies such as A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s, Fitch Ratings, and TheStreet.com.

These ratings are usually given as letter grades – similar to a school report card – from A++ through F. In most instances, sticking with an insurance company that has a letter grade of an A or better is a wise move, as this shows that the company is financially stable.

Lincoln History and Financial Stability

Lincoln Financial Group has not been in the insurance business for as long as some of the other larger insurers have been. The company entered into the insurance industry back in March 1977, when it was founded by Walter Fohl. Mr. Fohl was the majority stockholder of Wilshire Assurance Company.

The firm was initially headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Walter Fohl passed away in 1986, and at that time, the minority stockholders in the insurance company decided to take the company public. At that time, the headquarters of Lincoln Financial Group was moved to York, Pennsylvania.

In the beginning, the company offered only commercial auto and a few other related types of insurance products. However, throughout the years, the firm has expanded into other insurance coverage lines. Over time, the company has also acquired other companies. In 1998, Lincoln Financial Group became a part of the Kingsway Financial Services Group and was traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol KFS.

In the early 2000s, Lincoln Financial Group started to institute relationships with MGAs (Managing General Agents) that had direct and assumed business. This helped the company to expand its product lines – as well as its sales force – even further. Unfortunately, in February of 2009, due to certain statutory and/or legal exceptions, Lincoln Financial Group ceased its writing of any new insurance policies.

Customer Service and Claims

Because Lincoln Financial Group has been considered to be in “runoff” since February of 2009, as of this time, the company’s primary mission is to “complete a successful, voluntary, solvent runoff of all of its obligations of the insurance company.” In addition, it intends to provide superior handling of any and all claims that are filed, as well as to favorably impact the financial results of its shareholders.

With this in mind, Lincoln Financial Group has provided detailed information on its website for any policyholder in terms of how and where to forward any loss run requests. Such requests can typically be processed within ten (10) business days – or in some cases, even sooner. Insureds are asked to indicate their name, policy number, and effective month and year of all policy terms that are needed.

For those who have any questions – or if a Lincoln Financial Group policyholder is in need of filing a claim – there are some different ways in which to contact the company. These include regular mail, express mail, phone, and fax. The company has contact locations in both York, PA, as well as in Chicago, IL.

The company has also provided a number of forms directly on its website that can either be downloaded or completed online. This can help to make the claim filing process easier for their policyholders. Key information is also included that can assist individuals as to what should be included on these forms.

When reporting a loss, this information should be provided to the company’s Claims Intake Unit via fax, phone, or email as soon as possible. The timely reporting of an accident is extremely important, as it can protect a policyholder’s interests.

This can also help to protect and preserve pertinent information that is needed by a claims adjuster to conduct a thorough investigation. Loss reporting forms can be completed directly on Lincoln Financial Group’s website, and they can also be saved directly to a policyholder’s computer. This can make the process much easier as well as complete.

Information that is typically needed on such a form will include the following:

• Date of the loss
• Policy number of the insured
• Name of the insured (as it appears on the policy)
• Contact name and information of the insured
• Exact location where the accident occurred
• Brief description of the accident
• Whether or not the police were notified
• Year, make, model, and VIN (vehicle identification number) of the vehicle(s) involved in the accident
• Insured owner’s name, address, and phone number
• Insured driver’s name, address, and phone number, as well as his / her date of birth, driver’s license number, and state

Obtaining the Very Best Quotes on Life Insurance Policies

Not every company is created the same. Some are better than others. You need to call all the best life insurance companies, instead of just one single insurance carrier. There are several reasons for this.

First, you will be able to take a look at several different policies – and their corresponding benefits in a much more objective manner. Plus, you will also not be subject to just one insurer’s underwriting requirements – which could be more stringent than another’s.

Also, it will also allow you to check and compare premium prices all in one convenient place – without having to go from one insurer to another – or even hop from one website to another.

So if Banner Life insurance offers a product that meets your needs better than Lincoln Financial Group you should be able to compare those policies and make the best decision for you.

If you have questions or concerns about your life insurance coverage, let us know. We have experts on staff who will walk you through the life insurance premium quote process.

We can also provide you will additional key advice, such as how much coverage may be right for you and your specific situation, what type of life insurance is right for you – term or permanent – and which of the many carriers will be the best one for you.

How We Review Insurance Companies: 

Good Financial Cents systematically reviews U.S. insurance companies, emphasizing policy offerings, customer experiences, and overall reliability. Our goal is to present a balanced and comprehensive perspective to potential policyholders. Editorial transparency remains a cornerstone of our approach.

We actively collect information from insurance companies and place significant weight on customer feedback. By integrating this feedback with our research, we can offer a well-rounded evaluation. Each company is then rated based on multiple criteria, resulting in a star rating from one to five.

For a deeper understanding of the criteria we use to rate insurance companies and our evaluation approach, please refer to our editorial guidelines and full disclaimer.