Both belong on the same shortlist, and the honest answer is that they compete for the same buyer: someone who wants permanent coverage that builds cash value, usually indexed or variable universal life, designed with a licensed professional rather than picked off a list. What separates them sits above the insurance company: Pacific Life is a stock insurer whose voting stock is owned by Pacific LifeCorp, which is in turn controlled by Pacific Mutual Holding Company, so the people who own its policies and annuity contracts hold membership interests at the top of that chain. Lincoln Financial is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation, a publicly traded company that answers to shareholders and anchors its permanent shelf with MoneyGuard, life insurance linked to long term care benefits. One thing to settle before you read further, because it comes up constantly: Lincoln Financial is not Lincoln Heritage, the Phoenix final expense company, and the two have no relationship.
At a glance
| Pacific Life | Lincoln Financial | |
|---|---|---|
| Company structure | Stock insurer sitting under a mutual holding company | Subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation, traded on the NYSE as LNC |
| Who issues the policy | Pacific Life Insurance Company, domiciled in Nebraska, offices in Newport Beach | The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, an Indiana company in Fort Wayne |
| If your policy is written in New York | Pacific Life & Annuity Company, licensed in all fifty states | Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York |
| What a policyholder owns | The policy, plus a membership interest that carries a vote | The policy, plus a parent that publishes results anyone can read |
| Permanent coverage design | Flexible premium universal life, including a last survivor version | Universal, indexed universal and variable universal, single and survivorship |
| Named policies you may see | Pacific Select Performer 500, Pacific Legacy Survivorship VUL | Lincoln MoneyGuard, Lincoln TermAccel, Lincoln LifeElements |
| How you buy it | From a properly licensed and appointed life insurance producer | Through financial professionals, planner firms and financial institutions |
| Commonly confused with | Its former name, Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company of California | Lincoln Heritage, an unrelated final expense company in Phoenix |
One ownership chain is pinned in place by charter, the other trades every day
Both of these are stock life insurance companies, so the tidy mutual versus stock split people expect does not apply here. The difference is what sits above each one, and how firmly it is fastened. Pacific Life's voting stock is owned by Pacific LifeCorp, and Pacific LifeCorp is controlled by Pacific Mutual Holding Company. Their charters set a floor: Pacific Mutual Holding Company must always hold at least fifty one percent of Pacific LifeCorp's voting stock, and Pacific LifeCorp must always own all of Pacific Life's. Owners of Pacific Life policies and annuity contracts hold membership interests in that mutual holding company, principally a vote on electing its board and certain rights if it is ever dissolved. That is membership, not shares, and it is not a dividend. Lincoln Financial is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, so the top of that chain answers to shareholders and publishes results anyone can read. Neither shape decides whether a claim gets paid. It decides which kind of accountability sits behind the decades you plan to hold the policy: a vote you hold, or a set of books you can open.
Who each one actually suits
Pacific Life
A Nebraska domiciled insurer in Newport Beach, sitting under a mutual holding company
- You like that the company at the top of the chain is a mutual holding company, and that owning a policy or an annuity carries a membership interest and a vote on electing its board.
- You want survivorship coverage, one policy on two lives, which is exactly what Pacific Legacy Survivorship VUL is built to be and what couples and business partners often use for legacy planning.
- Variable universal life is what you are shopping for, where the cash value follows the investment options you select inside the policy rather than a declared rate.
- You already work with an independent professional who can set Pacific Life beside several other carriers, which is how you see its real number given the policy is placed by a licensed producer.
Lincoln Financial
The marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation, a publicly traded Indiana holding company
- The bill that worries you is long term care as much as a funeral, and Lincoln MoneyGuard combines universal or variable universal life with long term care riders so the policy itself can pay for care.
- You want to read the books before committing decades of premium, and Lincoln National Corporation files an annual report and a proxy statement you can pull up yourself.
- Indexed universal life is what you came for, and Lincoln writes it in both single and survivorship versions alongside its universal and variable universal shelf.
- Level term is your starting point, and Lincoln TermAccel and Lincoln LifeElements are level term policies that carry the option to convert into universal, indexed universal or variable universal coverage later.
If you already hold one of them
The name printed on the marketing is not always the name that owes the claim, so find the issuing company on page one before you do anything else. On the Pacific Life side that is Pacific Life Insurance Company, or its subsidiary Pacific Life & Annuity Company, and on the Lincoln side it is The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in Fort Wayne, or Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York. Because both companies build permanent coverage on universal life, the document that matters next is an in force illustration from the issuing company, which shows whether the policy is still funded the way it was designed to be. Have a licensed professional read it with you before anyone raises the idea of replacing it, since coverage priced on the health you had years ago is often worth more than it looks.
Common questions
Is Lincoln Financial the same company as Lincoln Heritage?
No. They share a first name and nothing else. Lincoln Financial is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation and its subsidiary companies, and the policies come from The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, or from Lincoln Life & Annuity Company of New York. Its individual life segment writes term, universal life, indexed universal life, variable universal life and the MoneyGuard linked benefit line, all placed through financial professionals. Lincoln Heritage is a separate, privately held company in Phoenix, Arizona, known for final expense coverage and its Funeral Advantage program. If a small burial policy is what brought you here, our Lincoln Heritage review is the page you want.
Pacific Life used to be Pacific Mutual. Is it still a mutual company?
Not in the way most people mean the word, and the company's own filings lay out the path. It was organized on January 2, 1868 under the name Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company of California. On September 1, 1997 it converted from a mutual life insurance company to a stock life insurance company ultimately controlled by a mutual holding company, and took the name Pacific Life Insurance Company. On September 1, 2005 it changed from a California corporation to a Nebraska corporation. Today it sits under Pacific LifeCorp, which sits under Pacific Mutual Holding Company. Owners of its policies and annuity contracts hold membership interests in that mutual holding company, mainly the right to vote on electing its board and certain rights if it is ever dissolved. That is a real ownership link, and it is still different from a classic mutual that declares an annual dividend on participating whole life. If a dividend paying whole life policy is specifically what you want, say so early, because it points toward a different group of carriers.
Both of them build permanent coverage on universal life. What does that change for me?
It changes where the flexibility sits, and the responsibility that comes with it. Traditional whole life fixes the premium and the growth, so there is very little for you to steer. Universal life, indexed universal life and variable universal life are flexible on the premium and on how the cash value is credited, whether from a declared interest rate, from the movement of a market index inside a floor and a cap, or from investment subaccounts you select. That flexibility is the point of the design, and it is also why these policies need reviewing. A universal policy that has been underfunded for years can behave very differently from the illustration that introduced it, which is why we ask for an in force illustration first on any policy of this type, from either company.
Which one is financially stronger?
That question has a published answer, and it is worth looking up rather than taking from anyone's article. The independent rating agencies grade the claims paying ability of the issuing company rather than the brand, so look up Pacific Life Insurance Company and The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company separately at ambest.com, and check the New York affiliate if that is the entity that would issue your policy. Ratings and outlooks change over time, so a current lookup beats a figure quoted a year ago. Both are large, long established insurers, and every United States life insurer is also backed by the guaranty association in your state up to set limits.
How do I actually buy either one?
Through a licensed professional in both cases. Pacific Life's prospectus states that in order to sell the policy, a financial professional must be a properly licensed and appointed life insurance producer. Lincoln distributes its individual life through Lincoln Financial Distributors to intermediaries such as wire and regional firms, independent planner firms and financial institutions. That is normal for coverage that gets designed rather than picked off a list, and it is also why there is no published price to compare. What you pay depends on your age, your health, your state and the exact product, so the practical move is to have one licensed professional quote both, holding the face amount and the product type the same on each side.
I am mostly worried about long term care costs. Where do I start?
Say that out loud at the first conversation, because it changes how the policy gets designed more than the carrier name does. There are two shapes to know. A linked benefit contract folds care benefits into the life policy itself, and Lincoln MoneyGuard is that shape, combining universal or variable universal life with long term care riders so the money is not lost if care is never needed. The other shape is a living benefit rider added to a policy you were buying anyway, and rider availability varies by product and by state at every carrier, so ask which riders are offered on the exact policy where you live. Either route can be the right one. Which fits depends on how much of your premium you want committed to care rather than to the death benefit.
How do I compare two universal life illustrations fairly?
Hold everything constant except the company. Same face amount, same premium, same number of years of premium, same assumed crediting rate and the same death benefit option, because changing any one of those moves the ending value more than the carrier name does. Then look past the ending number: read the guaranteed column, look at what the cost of insurance does as the policy ages, and ask what happens if you miss a few years of premium. An illustration is a projection built on assumptions, not a promise, and the two companies do not have to use the same assumptions. A licensed professional can put both on one page for you, and that side by side is usually where the decision stops being close.
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Rates for Pacific Life and Lincoln Financial both depend on your age and health, which means the better buy for your neighbour may be the worse buy for you. A licensed professional will price both against what you already have and tell you which is genuinely better, including when the honest answer is to keep what you have.
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This comparison is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Product availability, pricing and underwriting differ by state, age and health, and change over time. Policy Review Center is a free comparison and referral service, not an insurance agency, insurer, or producer, and it connects you with independent licensed agents. Carrier names are used for reference only and do not imply any endorsement or affiliation.