Lincoln Financial Hybrid Long-Term Care Insurance Review

Lincoln Financial Long-Term Care Insurance Plan Options

MoneyGuard is the umbrella term for all of Lincoln Financial’s hybrid LTC plans. There are technically two MoneyGuard plans, but they all offer similar benefits and are structured as universal life insurance policies with LTC riders. Availability varies by state, and Lincoln Financial offers limited plans in California and no plans in New York.

All MoneyGuard solutions can be issued to qualified individuals between the ages of 30 and 80. That range is better than many competitors we’ve reviewed, such as Nationwide and Securian, which issue LTC insurance only to customers up to 75 years old. Below, we’ll take a closer look at each of Lincoln Financial’s hybrid LTC plans.

MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage

The MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage plan (known as MoneyGuard II in California) is Lincoln Financial’s most common LTC hybrid plan. It’s available in 49 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The Fixed Advantage plan functions as a universal life insurance policy with a long-term care rider. It offers income-tax-free LTC reimbursements or, if no long-term care is required, a fixed income-tax-free death benefit paid to your beneficiaries.

Here are a few additional benefits the MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage plan offers:

• 100 percent guaranteed benefits, as long as all premiums are paid on time
• One up-front payment or varied premiums paid over time
• No waiting period for any type of long-term care
• International benefits for nursing home or residential care facilities
• Access to cash that equals 50 percent of the LTC maximum daily benefit
• Discounts for couples who both have MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage plans

The MoneyGuard Fixed Advantage plan is generally best for people who want to know exactly how much they can get in a death benefit or LTC benefits, along with couples who want to save on the cost of life insurance and long-term care.

MoneyGuard Market Advantage

MoneyGuard Market Advantage is a popular alternative to the Fixed Advantage plan, and it’s available in 48 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. It is a variable universal life policy with a long-term care rider, which means the cash value of your policy can be invested and grow over time. As a result, specific benefit amounts are not guaranteed, since they are directly linked to the growth of your portfolio.

With a MoneyGuard Market Advantage plan, you can use a model portfolio or build your own. Either way, your investments grow tax-deferred and your qualified LTC benefits can be withdrawn free of income tax. If you don’t require long-term care, your beneficiaries will receive the death benefit with no income tax obligations.

The MoneyGuard Market Advantage plan is best for individuals who are willing to take on a little more risk, with the upside of consistent growth in either the death benefit or LTC benefits.

Available Riders

Lincoln Financial considers LTC benefits “riders” added to their life insurance products, but LTC benefits are also a key feature of the company’s MoneyGuard solutions. Along with LTC benefits, you can add any of the following riders:

• Benefit transfer rider: This rider is included with all MoneyGuard plans at no additional cost. If you have beneficiaries with a separate MoneyGuard policy, they can transfer some or all of the death claim benefits to increase their own policy benefits.
• Inflation protection rider: Regardless of which MoneyGuard plan you have, you can add inflation protection that guarantees benefit growth at an annual compound rate of either 3 percent or 5 percent.
• Disability waiver of specified premium benefit rider: This paid rider can help cover premiums if you become disabled.
• Disability waiver of monthly deduction benefit rider: This paid rider waives monthly deductions if you become disabled.
• Return of premium rider: This rider allows you to cancel your policy and get 100 percent of paid premiums during selected years returned to you. Additional fees may apply.

Lincoln Financial Long-Term Care Insurance Cost

Lincoln Financial does not provide any pricing information on its MoneyGuard hybrid plans. You cannot access a quote or estimate online either, which is inconvenient considering other LTC providers, such as Mutual of Omaha, allow you to estimate policy costs on their websites in seconds.

Even if you contact Lincoln Financial directly, you will need to go through the application process (including underwriting) to get a quote for the policy of your choice. That makes it difficult to say how the cost of Lincoln Financial’s hybrid LTC plans stacks up to competitors. Fortunately, if you’re looking to save, Lincoln Financial offers discounts for qualifying couples.

Considering the company offers a streamlined underwriting process and an issue age up to 80 years old, it’s likely that Lincoln Financial hybrid LTC plans come with higher premiums. According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a single, 65-year-old male can expect to pay anywhere between $1,700 and $4,200 per year for an LTC insurance plan.2 Those figures apply only to stand-alone long-term care plans. You can expect higher costs with hybrid plans, particularly if you intend to add paid riders such as inflation protection.

Underwriting

Lincoln Financial is among the best in the business for hybrid LTC insurance underwriting. Rather than going through lab tests, medical exams, and a lengthy wait, you’ll just answer a few questions through an online portal or phone interview. If you meet certain conditions, you may be issued a policy within 24 hours of your submission. Compared to LTC providers such as OneAmerica, which requires you to go through multiple steps to be approved regardless of your age and health status, Lincoln Financial’s underwriting process is fast and flexible.

Lincoln Financial Customer Satisfaction

Lincoln Financial generally receives high marks for its financial stability and proficiency in providing quality products. Here are a few of the most important ratings to consider from relevant agencies:

• AM Best: A (stable finances)
• Standard & Poor’s (S&P): A+ (stable credit)
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): 0.30 (few complaints)
• Better Business Bureau (BBB): A+ (high trustworthiness and performance)

Those ratings show that Lincoln Financial performs well as a business and an insurance carrier, and has few official complaints on record. Customer feedback on the BBB, however, shows that some consumers have been unsatisfied with Lincoln Financial, particularly when it comes to the efficiency of the claims and reimbursement processes. It’s also important to note that, although the BBB has given the company an A+ rating, Lincoln Financial is not a BBB-accredited business.3

Lincoln Financial receives fewer complaints than the national average, but it does not perform as well as some of its competitors in this respect. Thrivent, for example, has an NAIC rating of just 0.02, indicating that it receives very few official complaints. All in all, however, Lincoln Financial still receives strong ratings.

Final Thoughts

Lincoln Financial may not provide estimates for hybrid LTC insurance plans up front, but it still offers plenty of incentives to apply. The high issue age and flexible underwriting process make it easy to check your eligibility without jumping through extra hoops. Plus, if you and your significant other both sign up for a hybrid LTC plan, you could potentially save on your premiums.

Our Methodology

When evaluating the quality of hybrid LTC offerings, we focus on the benefits a carrier or plan provides. We look at pricing, coverage, optional offerings, and long-term value, and compare those criteria to plans from other carriers. Ultimately, an LTC hybrid insurance policy should help reduce financial stress if you require care in the future, and offer a guaranteed death benefit if you do not. If a plan offers solid coverage at a fair price, we believe it’s a solid option. If you’re looking for a long-term care insurance plan (hybrid or stand-alone), visit our guide to the best LTC plans.