Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Company was founded by Jack Londen in 1963 — a time when final expense insurance claims could take several months to be paid to policyholders. In every realm, Jack was a natural salesman known for his energy in business, his passions for politics, faith, philanthropy, and his steadfast friendship to so many. “Every time I thought I knew everything about Jack, he’d come up with something I had never seen before. He was a master salesman.” says Larry Schuneman, former president of Lincoln Heritage.

As a young boy during the Great Depression, he sold homegrown raspberries and blackberries from door to door in Boulder, Colorado. By the time he was in high school, he had saved enough money for the down payment on a Texaco station in Boulder which he owned for several years— selling more than his share of tires and batteries.

While in college at the University of Colorado, he began to sell life insurance, becoming so successful that he didn’t need the college degree. And indeed, he was that entrepreneur who never applied for another job. To him, life insurance was about more than just a policy – it was about giving peace of mind. He didn’t want families to worry about how they were going to pay for their loved one’s funeral. Jack worked for a larger life insurance company for several years, but grew tired of having his clients denied coverage for minor health conditions like high blood pressure. He realized that most life insurance companies were more concerned with making money than with protecting their customers.

Jack knew there was a better way and in 1963 he founded his own life insurance company out of his home with his wife – Doris “Dodie” Londen. Commonly referred to as burial insurance or funeral insurance, Jack provided final expense life insurance quotes for people looking to protect their families from rising funeral costs. For the first full year of the business, Jack was the only salesman and Dodie was the home office staff – a true “Mom and Pop” operation. Jack’s sons would often help Dodie by typing the first commission and claim checks.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Tom Londen joined the family business when he was a sophomore in college and sold door-to-door just like his father.

Having both been insurance agents for many years, Jack and Tom understood the realities of buying and selling life insurance better than most. At the time, the concept of overnight claims payment and 24-hour service for both agents and customers was more fiction than fact. But Jack and Tom knew they could do better.

As such, Lincoln Heritage’s founding mission was to set a new bar for prompt, friendly, and accurate service in the life insurance industry by being agent-focused and by treating policyholders like royalty.

Together, Jack and Tom were a formidable team and went on to acquire and consolidate more than twenty-five other life insurance companies. They personally recruited top executives and field agents to ensure they had the best talent in the industry. Under their leadership, the company was taken to new heights and became the nation’s leading provider of agent-produced final expense insurance.

From the very beginning, our company has operated according to two overriding principles: respect for our policyholders, home office associates, and field representatives, and an all-encompassing devotion to personalized, prompt, and accurate service. Everything we do flows from these principles. Our only reason for existence as a company is to be here for our policyholder families, offering comfort and service on the worst day of their lives.

Unlike many of our competitors, final expense is not just one of several lines of business: it is our specialty and focus. We believe that if a company of our size tries to be involved in a number of lines of insurance products, the natural result is they become mediocre at all of them. Instead, we choose to be the best at final expense and to invest our time and resources in this one market. As a result, we believe we have more experience and understanding of final expense life insurance than any other life insurance company in America.

As we look to the future, there’s no question the market is changing: funeral costs are rising, people are living longer, and the life insurance industry is becoming more complex. But these changes don’t worry us because we know if we follow the principles that have made us who we are today, we can continue to be the number one final expense company in the nation. We couldn’t be more proud of the work we do.

The cornerstone of our daily operations is still old-fashioned personalized service. When my late grandfather – Jack Londen – founded Lincoln Heritage, he promised every policyholder we would provide comfort and financial support to their families at their point of need. We make the same promise today and consider it a high calling rather than just a job.

As the leading provider of final expense insurance, we operate in forty-nine states with over one million policies in-force valued at $10 billion. Last year, we reported $653 million of direct premium income and paid $200 million in agent compensation. Among the top 200 premium producing life companies in the U.S., Lincoln Heritage’s capital and surplus to liabilities ratio is 66% higher than the industry average. None of this is possible without our home office staff, field agents, and loyal policyholders who put their trust in us every single day. We are proud to be the fastest growing company in this important industry.

With some of the highest ratings in the industry from A.M. Best and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, Lincoln Heritage’s future remains incredibly bright.

Jack Londen sold life insurance for many years before founding Lincoln Heritage, so we know first-hand how important agents are to our continued success. To be the best, we partner with the most talented and dedicated people in the final expense market. We are proud that the majority of our largest independent agencies have been with us for more than 15 years, with some of them in their second generation of family management.

Because we are an agent-focused company, we equip our sales force with the necessary tools and home office support so that they can meet with our clients in-person to provide the products and services they need. The most important way we help our agents is through our in-house lead program consisting of direct mail, television, and digital marketing. Every year, more than 800,000 branded leads are generated across the country. A key part of our lead program’s success is our transparency – we’re very clear about who we are and what we offer.

Generating leads is just the first step in our system. We also pay agent commissions the same day we receive the business, provide 24 hour underwriting support, and train our home office associates to provide our agents the support they need to be successful. With our proven system and your motivation we can do great things together. Come join us!

At Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Company, paying approved claims in 24 hours is the hallmark of what we do every day. Our late founder was fond of saying, “We’re in the business to pay claims.” And truly, this is the only reason a life insurance company should exist. Unfortunately, many insurance companies are more concerned with profit than with serving their customers and can take weeks or months to pay their beneficiaries.

We know our sole reason for existence is to pay claims, so we make sure we pay them as quickly as possible. As an officer of Lincoln Heritage, I sign hundreds of condolence letters every day before they are sent to our policyholder families. Being able to provide for these families in their hour of need and communicate my sympathies is the best part of my job. My hope and prayer is that our company provides a small measure of comfort and compassion as they deal with the loss of their loved one.

Let me end by saying “Thank You” to all of our valued customers. Whether you are a field agent responsible for servicing our clients or a policyholder who trusts us with their final wishes, we couldn’t do what we do without you. Thank You!