Creating your online account
How do you create an account?
While completing the delivery requirements you should have been able to create an account, if you skipped this process please follow the following steps.
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 DOB (mm/dd/yyyy)
Owner’s DOB (mm/dd/yyyy)
Owner’s SSN
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.
Servicing your policy
What changes can you make on Lincoln’s online portal?
View policy details
Change contact details: Address, Phone, Email
Change beneficiary
Obtain change forms
Upload completed change forms
How to pay
How often do you make payments?
If you’re paying monthly, you’ll 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 aren’t required if you’re 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.
What payment methods can you use?
Lincoln doesn’t accept checks as payment for the initial monthly or quarterly payments, but checks are accepted for semi-annual and annual premium modes.
You can pay with a credit card for the first payment only. Lincoln offers this option in their online portal. Unfortunately, it’s not available in AK, MD, NJ, & NY. (Visa, Discover, & Mastercard accepted only.)
Commonly asked questions
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 your age 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.
I want to make some 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 name(s) of the individual(s), date of birth, and their relationship to you
Whether they’ll be added as a primary or contingent beneficiary
Each beneficiary allocation should total up to 100% (primary or contingent). For example, if adding 3 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’s 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.
There’s 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 (ex: employer address, home address, or length of occupation), you can make these changes after signing your policy.
As mentioned above, 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’s 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.
When will my policy be active?
Lincoln 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.
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.
If you’re interested in converting your policy please give us a call at:
800-741-7973 or you can schedule some time here.
How do I 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. There’s no fee to cancel.
Only the policyowner is allowed to cancel their existing coverage. Please reach out to your current provider and cancel the policy with them directly.
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.
Can I make changes to the owner or beneficiary after my policy has been activated?
Yes, forms can be found on the insurer’s website or by contacting Policygenius.
How does my beneficiary file a claim for a death benefit?
File a claim online: Death Benefit Claim
File a claim on the phone: (800) 487-1485, option 4
Please provide this article to your beneficiary as a resource when he/she is filing the claim: How to file a life insurance claim
Where do I mail recurring premium checks or forms for a policy change request?
Lincoln
PO Box 21008
Greensboro, NC 27420-1008
Can I change my payment mode after my policy goes active?
Yes, Lincoln will only allow the payment mode to be changed once after the policy goes active.
Can I decrease coverage once my policy has been activated?
Yes, once per year after being active for 3 years, however the minimum face amount you must maintain is $100,000.
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 which is generally 30 to 31 days after the initial due date. Depending on your insurer’s guidelines, you may also have to pay a late fee.
How do I reinstate my policy if it has lapsed?
If you still haven’t paid your premiums 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.
