When will my Lincoln Financial life insurance policy be active?
Lincoln Financial determines your policy effective date, or the date that you officially have life insurance coverage, as the date you sign all of your policy documents and make your first premium payment.
How do I review, sign, and pay for my Lincoln Financial life insurance policy?
Your policy documents are available to access, review, sign and pay for through Lincoln’s portal by clicking "Access my policy" in the email that was sent over.
You will be prompted to verify your identify with the last four digits of your Social Security number. Once logged in, you can review all the necessary documents that require your signature. Fill in all the relevant information as prompted, submit payment, and click "Finish."
How do I create an online account with Lincoln Financial?
You can register on their online customer service portal within 24 to 48 hours of your policy being active. Click on register, individual, and policy is owned by myself under life insurance policy. You’ll be prompted to verify your identify with the following information:
Insured’s date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
Owner’s date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
Owner’s Social Security number
Primary residence ZIP code
You’ll then create a user ID and password and answer security questions. Once this is completed, enrollment for Lincoln’s electronic portal will be complete.
Need help registering? Call 800-487-1485, option 2.
What changes can I make on Lincoln’s online portal?
Through Lincoln Financial's online portal, you can:
View policy details
Change contact details, such as your address, phone number, or email
Change your beneficiary
Obtain change forms
Upload completed change forms
How often do I make premium payments?
If you are paying monthly, you will be required to set up automatic payments from a checking or savings account. Be sure to provide your banking information for your first premium and recurring payments.
Automatic payments are not required if you are paying annually, semi-annually, or quarterly, but policies paid via direct billing have a significantly higher lapse rate due to the frequency of missed payments.
Can I change my payment method after my policy goes active?
Yes, Lincoln Financial allows you to change your payment method once after your policy goes active.
Why haven’t I seen a payment draft yet?
If you made your initial payment via electronic funds transfer (EFT), you may not see the premium drafted yet. Sometimes, banks don’t process drafts right away.
Where do I mail recurring premium checks or forms for a policy change request?
You can mail your premium payment or policy change forms to: Lincoln Financial, PO Box 21008, Greensboro, NC 27420-1008.
My age is wrong in my policy. How do I fix this?
In insurance years, your age changes six months prior to your actual birthday, and is determined by your nearest birthday. For example, someone with a birthday in January has an age change every July. Most of the time, no correction is needed, but if you have questions, please reach out to the Policygenius team.
There is some incorrect information on my initial application that I need to update. How can I fix this?
Typically, if the information you need to update won’t affect the underlying approval of your policy (such as your employer address, home address, or length of occupation), you can make these changes after signing your policy.
Any adjustments will require a reissue to reflect the changes and can take anywhere from five to seven business days for the new policy to be revised and ready for review.
There are certain instances where it is important to update information that may have changed since your initial application right away:
There has been a significant change in your health
All doctor visits and any new travel plans that were not previously disclosed
This information will need to be submitted and sent back to the underwriter for review and added to the policy before it is signed and activated.
I want to look into a whole life or permanent life policy in the future. Can I convert my term policy to a permanent policy?
Absolutely! You can convert your term policy into a permanent life policy prior to age 70. Each life insurance company is different, so please review the guidelines on Lincoln’s conversion policy located within your policy’s fine print.
I want to make changes to my beneficiaries. How do I do that?
In order to change or add additional beneficiaries to your policy, your insurer will require some additional information. Specifically:
The full names of the individuals, their date of birth, and their relationship to you
Whether they will be added as a primary or contingent beneficiary
Each beneficiary allocation should total up to 100%. For example, if adding three of your children as beneficiaries: Child 1 - 33%, Child 2 - 33%, Child 3 - 34%
Alternatively, you can activate your policy first and make these changes at a later date to ensure that there is no delay in your coverage. When changing the beneficiary information before signing, the policy will be reissued to reflect these changes. This process normally takes five to seven business days.
Can I decrease coverage once my policy has been activated?
Yes, you can decrease your coverage once per year after your policy has been active for three years. The minimum face amount you must maintain is $100,000.
How does my beneficiary file a claim for a death benefit?
Your beneficiary can file a death benefit claim online or over the phone.
Online: Death benefit claim form
By phone: 800-487-1485, option 4
Learn more >> How to file a life insurance claim
What happens if I want to cancel my policy?
If you decide you no longer want to continue your policy, you may cancel it at any time during the term period without paying a cancellation fee.
What happens if my term life insurance policy lapses?
If you’re the owner of a term life insurance policy and you haven’t paid your premium by the end of your insurer’s grace period, your policy will lapse and you’ll lose your life insurance coverage. If you die after your policy has lapsed, your beneficiaries won’t receive the death benefit, no matter how much you’ve previously paid in premiums.
What is a grace period?
Every state’s Department of Insurance requires life insurance companies to provide a grace period when a premium payment is late or missed. That grace period is usually 30 or 31 days (but varies from carrier to carrier) and begins the day that a payment is due and isn’t received.
During the grace period, you’re still fully covered by your policy, meaning that if you were to die during this time, your insurance company would still pay out the death benefit to your beneficiaries. But if you want to keep your coverage, you’ll need to pay your missed premium before the grace period ends.
How do I reinstate my policy if it has lapsed?
If you still haven’t paid your premium by the time your insurance carrier’s grace period ends, your policy has officially lapsed and you no longer have life insurance coverage. At this point, you’ll have to contact your insurer to reinstate your policy, a process that varies from carrier to carrier.
Reinstatement is dependent upon the carrier and it’s managed on a case-by-case basis depending on the situation. Applying for reinstatement of a policy might involve signing a document stating that your health has not changed. In addition, you’ll need to pay backdated premiums to the date that the policy lapsed.
Depending on your insurer, how long your policy has been lapsed, and whether you had any red flags in your medical history when you first applied for life insurance, reinstatement might also require new underwriting. Some companies won’t require new underwriting if the policy has been inactive for less than six months; others may require only a limited underwriting process.
Despite these extra steps, it’s worth doing what you can to reinstate an existing policy that has lapsed rather than taking out a new one. The reason is that your rates are very likely to be higher if you apply for a new policy, because you’ll be older than you were when you last applied for insurance, and may have new medical conditions.
How can I get in touch with Lincoln Financial?
Still have questions for your insurer? You can get in touch with Lincoln Financial in a few different ways:
Lincoln Accel
Fax: (800) 819-1987
Email: CustServSupportTeam@LFG.com
Phone: (800) 487-1485 option 2
Mail: Lincoln Accel, PO Box 21008, Greensboro, NC, 27420
You can access your online portal here.
Lincoln Elements
Fax: (800) 819-1987
Email: CustServSupportTeam@LFG.com
Phone: (800) 487-1485 option 2
Mail: Lincoln Elements, PO Box 21008, Greensboro, NC, 27420
You can access your online portal here.
