Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Lincoln National Corporation's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Lincoln National Corporation

  150 N Radnor Chester Rd Radnor, PA 19087-5252

• 

  Lincoln National Corporation

  1500 Market St Ste 3900 Centre Square West Tower Philadelphia, PA 19102-2100

• 

  Lincoln Financial Group

  PO Box 21008 Greensboro, NC 27420-1008

• 

  Lincoln National Corporation

  125 Summer St Ste 1400 Boston, MA 02110-1687

• 

  Lincoln National Corporation

  125 Summer St Ste 1400 Boston, MA 02110-1687

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have critical illness insurance through Lincoln Financial. I received a ****** diagnosis in October 2022. I filed for the $10,000 critical illness insurance I had been paying for for over a year. Despite several attempts to mail and email the required forms, they claim they didn’t receive my portion of information until March. They didn’t even begin reaching out to the necessary parties to confirm my information until almost a month later. We have heard different stories from them and my doctor, but they claim they received all needed information on April 27th and the claim is in the final review stage. I have been told by several different employees that they would have the claim reviewed in 5-7 business days, and that they would expedite the claim. It is now June 26th and I still have not seen a penny, and the employees are continuing to lie and say they will expedite it, but no one ever does. They also “never received” a document allowing my wife to speak to them, despite filing it with them. They have lied and evaded payment at every turn with no end in sight.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2023

  We will be responding to the complainant in a separate letter. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/30/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Two of my dependent children were seen by their dentist on 5/8/2023. As we always do, we pay the dentist directly after the transaction and submit a standard ADA dental claim form to Lincoln Financial Group on 5/9/2023. As we realized after some time that the check wasn't coming, we reached out to be told that we authorized the payment to be sent to the dental provider. When I pulled out the ADA claim form and looked at line 37, I wasn't the least bit surprised to see that I did not authorize this payment to the provider as I never signed it. According to Lincoln's representatives, the date, a small black mark, or anything at all in that box will automatically refund the money to the dental provider, even WITHOUT the authorizing signature on it. So after Lincoln makes the mistake of sending the payment to the provider and not myself, it takes them weeks to finally acknowledge the issue, and as of 5/30/2023, no payment has been made. But when the payment was going to the dental provider, the claim was filed on 5/9/2023 with payment made on 5/10/2023. There seems to be no controls in place to safeguard claim payments, as anybody could alter this document to change payment - NO SIGNATURE REQUIRED on the signature line.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/14/2023

  June 14, 2023

  Dear *** *******:
  

  I am writing in response to your email that was received on May 31, 2023 regarding the above-referenced Case Number. Due to privacy laws, Lincoln Financial Group cannot provide you with any policy information regarding the complaint that ******* ****** filed.
  

  Accordingly, Lincoln Financial will respond directly to *** ****** regarding this matter.
  

  Thank you for bringing this matter to the company's attention. If you have any questions or should you need any additional information regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me at ###-###-#### or [email protected].

  Sincerely,

  Claims Resolutions Consultant
  Claims Resolutions Services
  The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/24/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  401(k) account opened in my name without knowledge or consent.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/30/2023

  May 30, 2023  
  

  Dear *** *******,  
  

  I am writing in response to your email dated May 25, 2023 addressed to ****** ********, Lincoln  National Corporation (“Lincoln”), regarding the above-referenced Complaint ID Number. Due to  privacy laws, we cannot provide you with any information regarding the complaint that ***** ************** filed. Accordingly, we will respond directly to ***** ************** regarding  this matter. 

  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. If you have any questions or should you need  any additional information regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me.  
  

  Respectfully,  
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/01/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1) LFG admitted opening a 401(k) after I had closed account (see attached);

  2) LFG made no attempt to contact me in advance of reopening 401(k) account;

  3) LFG does not provide alternative to opening 401(k) account to receive contribution bonus following employee departure and closure of associated 401(k);

  4) This underscores further mishandling points regarding my salary following my departure, suggesting a pattern of misconduct on the part of LFG (compaint with *********** ***** of ***** pending).
  

  Regards,
  
  **************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/14/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The business is committed to handling all of my personal healthcare information and giving me benefits based on the determination of those papers. Ever since I went on long term disability my personal case manager has had multiple discrepancies with handling it. I've ask over the course since March to speak with a supervisor regarding it and there has been no communication with me. Anywhere else in any business there would be no issue with this, but however the supervisor or whoever is directly above my case manager never reaches out, or responds to "the emails being sent to them" - when i inquire about it. All I want to do is switch case managers, but that seems to not be possible or conducive based on the no responses. In the beginning of March my claim for long term disability started for evaluation to be looked at to see if it was approved or not, but however it took the last week of March to receive any type of approval and that is only because I "went off" on my case manager after pointing out that they had proof of what medications I had prior to receiving benefits.In order to receive benefits part of the conditions are to be met is that I never had those specific medicines. I had to turn in my pharmacy script which they had- I assume two weeks prior to march 24th when my claim finally got approved at the end of the business day. My case manager was trying to have me submit more information that he didn't need in order to approve my claim. To be completely transparent. I don't even remember the full thing and I wish i was documenting this, but i reached out to my rep every single day thro March pretty much to ask about paper work that we sent over, but never supposedly got it. Apart of what made this difficult was that there was information I needed to send in order to get my benefits that was sent in the mail, that i never received. My rep never disclosed this. It wasn't until the 24th that another rep I got ahold of allowed me to do through email.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/16/2023

  Thank you for our inquiry.

  Please note that privacy laws limit what information can be disclosed in our response.

  Upon receipt of your inquiry ***************************, manager, contacted the consumer by telpehone and addressed her concerns.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/27/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have a disability insurance policy with them which pays out the premiums if I do not file for disability prior to my 65th birthday. I turned 65 in April of this year. They do not respond to email, letters or faxes. Phone conversations are sent to a different department. On April 24th I was told they would get back to me within 24 hours. I have heard nothing. I just want the cash value of my premiums which is why I got the insurance in the first place. Policy #********* My first premium was May 1996 for 38.95. I feel I am due $12,580.00.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/02/2023

  May 2, 2023 
  
  Dear *** *******: 

  I am writing in response to your letter received on April 28, 2023, to LifeCompliance E-mail box regarding the  above-referenced Case Number. Due to privacy laws, Lincoln Financial cannot provide you with any policy  information regarding the complaint that ********* ******* filed. Accordingly, Lincoln Financial will respond  directly to ********* ******* regarding this matter. Thank you for bringing this matter to the company's  attention. If you have any questions or should you need any additional information regarding this matter, please  feel free to contact me. 
  

  Sincerely, 
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/18/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  A couple years ago I got a real bad accident and was placed on long term disability for my former employer and it was approved until September 2023. March 27, they put my case under review and I have sent all paperwork needed. I have been told today my case has been closed. They said they confirmed with my doctor's that I am good to go back to work. That is not the case. Something isn't right here. I believe my new case manager *********************** is the issue.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/21/2023

  Please note privacy laws limit what information we can disclose on this matter.

  Upon our receipt of your inquiry, *******************************, Manager, contacted you by telephone to address your inquiry and the status of your claim.

  Thank you for your inquiry.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/10/2023

  My issue has not been resolved. On 4/27/23 I spoke to ***** ******. His title is LTD Senior Claims Examiner. When we spoke he thoroughly listened to my complaint. However, the actual issue has not been resolved yet. The original issue was about the way that my case manager handled my case. The case was not handled properly, I was not told anything about the nature of the case and she was never available to speak.  She had me send in all of my most recent medical records in which I did. When I received my letter of denial I did not show that one record was sent in, nor did it have any of my current providers listed. All of this was discussed with *** ****** and all he concluded was he will expedite my appeal once all of my information has been received and that of my previous caseworker ****** ***** would have nothing to do with my appeal. He assured me of this which let me know that the situation is a problem, yet it has not been properly handled. .

  
  

  As of 5/22/2023 the information for my appeal has been submitted and as usual I have heard nothing from this company. As of 5/18/2023 I was sent a letter from the company via email letting me know that I could also provide reasons that I feel that appeal should not have been denied. I called my new case manager.

  I was calling to obtain information  to ensure I was following the proper steps. Unfortunately she was not available and I left a voicemail. Her voicemail greeting states that she will return in 24 hours. As of 5/22/2023 I still had not heard from her. Thus this leads back to my original issue.

  
  

   I answered the appeal on 5/22/2023 as needed and called Lincoln Financial to see who I should send my response to because the letter did not state that information. When I called and   was not given very much needed information so I sent my response to ***** ****** which he did reply back and state that my email had been sent to the proper place. I also emailed a copy of my response to customer service and I was also told that the email will be sent to the appeals department.  I was told by a customer service rep that I spoke to that my doctor had sent in her necessary paperwork. As of 6/8/2023 I am still waiting because the appeal has not been expedited like I was originally told. I have come to this conclusion because I was told the TAT for a decision would be one week. 

  
  

  This concludes my response. 

  
  

  Best Regards, 

  ******** ****** 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/13/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I’ve been trying to get in contact with someone about a offset they’ve been taking from my paychecks they’ve already in total took $1400 . And they plan to take another $1400 It was never discussed with me that they would be taking that much . And nobody there is responding and it’s unacceptable. someone in their office messed up they need to be held accountable.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/24/2023

  Please be advised that privacy laws limit what information we may disclose in our response.

  We spoke with the consumer on March 27, 2023, and informed her that Lincoln Financial Group, LFG, did not withhold disability benefits from her paycheck,

  Upon receipt of your inquiry, a manager contacted ****** directly by telephone on April 21, 2023 and advised that no checks were issued by LFG.

  We attempted to clarify with the consumer that we did not withhold disability benefits from her paycheck.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/11/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Lincoln Financial has been sending me information about a supposed account I have through them every year for maybe 2 years now. They have never sent anything in the post, and they won’t stop. Do I have an account that I don’t know about? Why won’t they stop emailing me? It has my name on it, and they’re emailing my personal address. When I tried to file a Fraud report, they told me that I couldn’t for some bogus reason. Why won’t they leave me alone? I’m not giving them my personal information. They keep telling me the information they have on file doesn’t match my address and such, yet they continue to email me. I don’t get it. Don’t they double check the email address someone chooses to provide to them is the correct one? A lady I talked to from the state told me that employees in banks make fake accounts because they get kickbacks for signing people up. Did they do this to me, using my information? Your agents are even trying to send me secure messages to my email, and they won’t simply call me on the phone? I think your whole business is a big scam factory. I don’t understand why I’m in the middle of it. I just wish I knew what the heck was going on. Every year…

  Business Response

  Date: 04/25/2023

  ******************,

  I am writing in response to your email dated April 11, 2023, to The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company (Lincoln Financial) regarding Complaint #********. Due to privacy laws, Lincoln Financial cannot provide you with any information regarding the complaint that ***************** filed. Accordingly, Lincoln Financial will respond directly to ***************** regarding this matter.
  
  Thank you for bringing this matter to the company's attention. If you have any questions or should you need any additional information regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me.
  
  Sincerely,
  *********************
  Analyst, Compliance
  Legal Department
  
  *****************************
  ************
  
  Registered Representative of Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc., a broker/ dealer. Insurance products are issued by Lincoln affiliates. Principal office located at *** ** ****** ******* ***, Radnor, PA **********. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation and its affiliates.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/05/2023

   Dear Better Business Bureau:
  
  I was contacted by Lincoln Financial, and the matter is completely settled. I am very pleased with the resolution and efforts made by the company and especially **. **********.
  
  Thank you for your part in making this resolution possible, BBB!

  Best,
  *****************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/05/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Company makes it incredibly difficult to get anything done. They send me documents to have filled out by my doctor, for which I am charged a document fee, and then when I send in the documents I am informed that what I sent was not necessary, and that there is actually a different form I was not aware of that needed to be filled out and provided to Lincoln. Over the years, my experience with Lincoln has only gotten worse. They seem to intentionally understaff so that customers are never able to speak with their representative, and thus are left in limbo, waiting for a callback which usually never comes. I am forced to call in multiple times each day, leaving messages, and usually have to wait until I get lucky and they pick up on the 20th call. This company has cost me over $100 in document fees which according to them, did not need to be paid because those documents were not necessary. It is difficult to tell which documents are necessary when there is no distinction between optional and necessary forms, and when it is nearly impossible to speak with a representative to understand the difference. Some of the verbiage in the documents needed is also quite vague, to the point that my doctor did not understand what it was asking and filled in the wrong response, making it necessary for me to obtain additional documents, for which additional fees must be paid, and there is absolutely no empathy or understanding from the company. They do not care how much unnecessary fees I must pay because of them.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/10/2023

  Please be advised that privacy laws limit the amount of information that we can disclose regarding this matter.

  Claims Manager, ***************************** spoke with ******************** on 4/6/2023 regarding his concerns and provided further information regarding his claim.

  If ******************** has further questions, he can contact ***************************** at *************************.

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/16/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My wife and I both had term life insurance policies with LFG expering  December 31, 2022. We received notification from LFG that the policies were expiring and that premiums would increase and be automatically deducted from our checking account in January 2023. We were required to notifiy Lincoln that we wished automatic debits to be ended. I called to do so, but was told that I needed to complete a form and return it to the company. I completed the paperwork and either faxed or emailed it to LFG in Dec. 2022. Still, in January, the new higher premiums were automatically drafted. I placed an immediate call to customer service and was told that they would refund the two unauthozied charges and cease future automatic charges. Instead, a month later two more charges were drawn from my checking account - in even higher amounts. All together is was four charges amounting to near $1,400. That began a month of trying to get this cleared up in several calls to customer service and required my submission of bank statements to prove these charges had been drawn from my checking account. After not getting any help, I managed to have the case "escalated" which finally prompted a call back two days later. This agent reported that LFG is refunding the two most recent unauthorized charges, but deny to having received my request to cease the automatic drafts in time and that they would not refund the January premiums.The fact that their default is to automatically increase and continue charging premiums for expiring term policies is wrong to start with, but I could live with that. What angers me is that I specifically asked for this not to happen and, by denying receipt of my paperwork, they just went ahead and charged me the higher premiums anyways and then refused to make it right. And the customer service experience was fraught with frustration and no help. Twice I was promised a call back with an update on our case that was never made.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/31/2023

  March 31, 2023 
  
  Dear *** *******:  
  

  I am writing in response to your email dated March 20, 2023, to The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company  (Lincoln Financial) regarding the above-referenced Complaint ID. Due to privacy laws, Lincoln Financial  cannot provide you with any policy information regarding the complaint that **** ****** filed. Accordingly,  Lincoln Financial has responded directly to *** ****** regarding this matter. 

  Thank you for bringing this matter to the company's attention. If you have any questions or should you need any  additional information regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me. 
  

  Respectfully,  
  Amanda P