No. A Lincoln Heritage policy cannot be sold in the life settlement market, and the reason is arithmetic rather than anything about the company: the Funeral Advantage program pays a death benefit of up to about $35,000, with most policies written between roughly $5,000 and $20,000, while institutional buyers start looking at around $100,000. There is no version of this transaction that covers its own costs.
What is worth your time is a different calculation, and almost nobody runs it. Take the monthly premium you pay, multiply it by twelve, and multiply that by the number of years you expect to keep paying. Compare the result to the death benefit. On a policy bought in your late sixties or seventies, that comparison frequently produces an uncomfortable number, and it points toward decisions that are genuinely available to you — reduced paid-up, a face amount reduction, or simply understanding what you own.
Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Company operates from Phoenix, Arizona and is one of the largest final expense specialists in the country. Its flagship is the Funeral Advantage program, a simplified issue whole life contract bundled with Family Support Services delivered through the Funeral Consumer Guardian Society, a benefit included at no extra premium. Understanding both halves of that bundle matters, because the service half is worth something real and does not survive a surrender.
In This Article
What the Funeral Advantage Program Actually Is
Two things arrive together when you buy Funeral Advantage, and people routinely value only the first.
The insurance is a whole life policy underwritten on a simplified issue basis — health questions, prescription and claims database checks, no paramedical exam or blood draw. Death benefits run up to approximately $35,000, with maximums varying by state, issue age and underwriting outcome. Because it is whole life, it builds guaranteed cash value on a schedule printed inside the contract, and coverage does not expire at a stated age the way term coverage does.
The Family Support Services come through the Funeral Consumer Guardian Society and are included at no additional cost. FCGS provides at-need support to the family, helps compare prices among funeral homes, assists with negotiating, and documents and carries out the insured’s stated final wishes. Given that funeral pricing varies enormously between homes in the same town, a service that shops the arrangement on the family’s behalf has real economic value — plausibly more than the difference between two competing policy quotes.
Note what the policy is not. Unlike a preneed contract sold through a funeral home, a Funeral Advantage policy names a person as beneficiary, is not assigned to any particular funeral home, and leaves the family free to spend the proceeds however they choose. That is an advantage over preneed, and it means there is no assignment blocking your control of the contract.
Run the Premium-to-Benefit Number Yourself
This is the calculation that changes decisions, and it takes one minute.
Suppose a policy issued at age 70 for a $10,000 death benefit at $95 per month. That is $1,140 a year. Over ten years you pay $11,400 — more than the death benefit. Over fifteen years you pay $17,100. Small-face simplified issue whole life is priced this way because the underwriting is minimal, the issue ages are advanced, and the mortality risk is accepted with limited information. It is not a defect; it is how the product works. But it means the honest question is not “can I sell this” but “is continuing to pay this the best use of the money.”
Now check whether the policy is paid up. Some final expense contracts are written on limited-pay schedules, and a paid-up policy costs nothing to keep. If yours is paid up, the calculation above is finished and the correct answer is almost always to keep it: you hold a guaranteed benefit with no ongoing cost.
If premiums are still due and the number above bothers you, that is a signal to price reduced paid-up rather than to look for a buyer. Read how the nonforfeiture options compare before doing anything irreversible.
Why the Market Floor Sits Around $100,000
The life settlement market is institutional. Buyers are funds and insurance-linked investment vehicles, and every acquisition carries the same fixed costs whether the death benefit is $12,000 or $1.2 million: one and usually two independent life expectancy reports, medical record retrieval and summarization, provider legal and compliance review, an escrow agent, closing, and premium servicing for as many years as the policy stays in force.
That package runs into thousands of dollars per case. On a $2 million policy it disappears into the margin. On a $15,000 policy it exceeds the entire death benefit before a purchase price is even discussed. That is the complete explanation for the market floor, and it is why minimum policy size and what to do when a policy is too small to sell are the two most useful pages on this site for someone in your position.
One practical warning. If any company offers to broker a $15,000 burial policy — especially one asking for a fee up front — treat that as the clearest warning sign in this industry. Legitimate providers and brokers are compensated out of a closed transaction, not by consumers in advance.
| Question | Funeral Advantage (Lincoln Heritage) | Preneed sold by a funeral home |
|---|---|---|
| Who receives the money | A person you name as beneficiary | Usually the funeral home, by assignment |
| Can the family spend it freely | Yes | No — it pays the itemized funeral contract |
| Is there an assignment blocking transfer | Normally no | Normally yes |
| Typical death benefit | Roughly $5,000 to $35,000 | Sized to a specific funeral price list |
| Sellable in the secondary market | No — far below the roughly $100,000 floor | No — assignment plus size |
| Realistic alternatives | Keep, reduced paid-up, reduce face, surrender | Keep; cancel only if revocable and no Medicaid issue |
Four Options That Actually Exist
Keep it. Especially if it is paid up, or if the premium is comfortable and you want your family to have a clean, unassigned death benefit plus the FCGS support at the time of death. Keeping a small guaranteed policy is a legitimate decision, not a failure to act.
Elect reduced paid-up. Premiums stop permanently and existing cash value purchases a smaller, fully paid-up death benefit that can never lapse. A $10,000 policy might become $4,500 paid up. This is the right answer when cash flow is the problem but you still want your family to receive something. See how reduced paid-up works. It is a routine service request.
Reduce the face amount. Some contracts allow a partial reduction, cutting the premium proportionally while keeping coverage in force at a lower level.
Surrender for cash value. Whole life builds guaranteed cash value, though on a policy issued in your seventies it is generally modest and often below cumulative premiums paid. Surrender ends the coverage and the FCGS benefit permanently, so treat it as a last resort. See what cash surrender value is.
What is not on the list: a life settlement, at this face amount, from any buyer.
The Question Behind the Question
People rarely research selling a burial policy because they are curious about burial policies. They research it because money is tight, a care cost has appeared, or a Medicaid application is coming. The burial policy is simply the asset they can name.
Two findings recur, and both are more useful than the original question. The first is a separate, much larger permanent policy on the same insured — a universal life contract from the 1990s, or a whole life policy from a former employer’s association plan — that nobody has examined in twenty years and that is quietly drifting toward lapse as its internal charges climb. That policy can be worth a meaningful sum. The second is a former employer’s group life certificate carrying a conversion right that was never exercised.
Inventory every policy on the insured before deciding anything: policy number, carrier, face amount, and whether premiums are still due. Buyers underwrite the person, not one contract, so several policies together occasionally clear a threshold that none of them reaches alone.
Two Medicaid points also belong here. Most states exclude a small amount of life insurance face value from countable assets — commonly $1,500 — and cash value in policies above that threshold generally counts. A $10,000 whole life policy with $2,000 of cash value is therefore usually a countable asset, which is a planning fact rather than a reason to surrender. And if there is a terminal diagnosis, check the rider schedule first: a qualifying accelerated death benefit payment is generally excluded from income under Internal Revenue Code section 101(g), costs nothing in fees, and requires no buyer.
Arizona, FCGS, and Where a Complaint Goes
Lincoln Heritage is domiciled in Arizona and regulated by the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, the agency created when the state’s insurance and financial institutions departments merged in 2020. That department handles consumer complaints against Arizona-domiciled carriers, verifies producer and company licenses, and is the correct destination for a claim-handling or sales-practice complaint about the issuing company. Arizona imposes no state estate or inheritance tax.
If your complaint concerns a service delivered by the Funeral Consumer Guardian Society rather than the insurance policy itself, note that FCGS is a separate organization from the insurer even though the benefit arrives bundled. Raise service issues with both, in writing, and keep copies.
If you live outside Arizona, your own state’s insurance department is the regulator for anything involving a sale into the secondary market, since settlement licensing follows the seller’s state of residence rather than the insurer’s domicile. Verify any provider’s or broker’s license there before signing anything.
What to Do This Week
One. Find the policy and confirm three numbers: the death benefit, the monthly premium, and whether premiums are still payable or the contract is paid up.
Two. Run the premium-to-benefit calculation for the next ten years. If the result concerns you and premiums are still due, call Lincoln Heritage and request a reduced paid-up quotation and, if available, a face-amount reduction quotation. Both are routine requests and neither costs anything.
Three. List every other policy on the same insured, including anything from a former employer, a bank, a fraternal organization, or an association. If any is a permanent policy of roughly $100,000 or more, that is the one worth reviewing.
A free, no-obligation review can tell you whether any policy in the household has secondary-market value, and will say so directly when the answer is that everything should be kept. Send the policy cover page or call (305) 209-7183. Pine Lake Life Solutions provides educational information only and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice; consult your own attorney or accountant before acting, and confirm all product details directly with Lincoln Heritage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest Funeral Advantage death benefit?
The program pays a death benefit of up to approximately $35,000, with most policies written between roughly $5,000 and $20,000. Maximums vary by state, issue age and underwriting outcome. Even at the top of the range the policy sits far below the roughly $100,000 level at which the life settlement market operates.
Will I pay more in premiums than the policy pays out?
Possibly, if you live long enough. A $10,000 policy at $95 a month costs $1,140 a year, so ten years of premiums total $11,400. That is how small-face simplified issue whole life is priced at advanced issue ages. Run the number for your own policy before deciding whether to continue paying.
Is my Lincoln Heritage policy assigned to a funeral home?
Normally no. Funeral Advantage names a person as beneficiary and is not tied to a particular funeral home, so the family can spend the proceeds however they choose. That is a meaningful difference from preneed policies sold through funeral directors, which are typically assigned and cannot be freely transferred.
What are Family Support Services worth?
More than most people credit. The Funeral Consumer Guardian Society benefit, included at no extra premium, provides at-need support, price comparison among funeral homes, negotiating help and documentation of final wishes. Because funeral pricing varies widely between homes in one town, that shopping service can save the family real money.
Should I surrender the policy for its cash value?
Only as a last resort. Cash value on a small policy issued in your seventies is generally modest and often below cumulative premiums, and surrender ends both the death benefit and the bundled support services permanently. Price reduced paid-up first, which stops premiums while keeping a smaller guaranteed benefit.
Does this policy affect Medicaid eligibility?
It can. Most states exclude a small amount of life insurance face value from countable assets, commonly $1,500, and cash value on policies above that threshold generally counts toward the asset limit. That is a planning consideration to raise with an elder law attorney rather than an automatic reason to surrender.
Who regulates Lincoln Heritage?
The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, formed when the state merged its insurance and financial institutions departments in 2020. It handles consumer complaints and license verification for Arizona-domiciled carriers. For anything involving a secondary-market sale, the regulator is the insurance department of your own state of residence.
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Related Reading
- Can I Sell A Final Expense Policy
- Policy Too Small To Sell
- Minimum Policy Size For A Life Settlement
- What Is Reduced Paid Up Insurance
- What Is Cash Surrender Value
- Nonforfeiture Options Compared
- Guaranteed Issue Policy Value
- Sell My Lincoln Heritage Whole Life Policy
- Sell My Globe Life Final Expense Policy
Pine Lake Life Solutions does not purchase life insurance policies and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Information provided is for educational purposes only. Eligibility for any option, including life settlements, is not guaranteed and depends on individual circumstances, policy terms, underwriting, and market conditions. Consult independent legal, tax, or financial professionals before making decisions regarding a life insurance policy.