Lincoln Financial Group to Acquire Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston

1/21/18

RADNOR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston from Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. Upon completion of the transaction, Lincoln Financial will retain Liberty’s Group Benefits business and reinsure Liberty’s Individual Life and Annuity business to Protective Life Insurance Company. The acquisition, which is expected to create a single, powerful Group Benefits operation with industry-leading products, services, and capabilities, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

“Through this transaction, Lincoln Financial will have a significantly increased presence in the Group Benefits market by complementing our existing small to middle-market strengths with even deeper large case and disability expertise,” said Dennis R. Glass, president and chief executive officer of Lincoln Financial Group. “Liberty is a respected and high-quality carrier, one with talented Group Benefits employees who will soon join our own impressive team in order to drive even greater benefit for all customers. The acquisition also aligns with our strategic priority of diversifying our sources of earnings and effectively deploying capital.”

With this acquisition, Lincoln Financial is poised to become a Group Benefits market leader, as the combined Fully Insured Disability sales market share would be ranked number one at 14 percent, and the combined Total Life and Fully Insured Disability sales market share rank would be number three.1 Lincoln Financial will expand its distribution and product reach, strengthen its capabilities, and leverage new opportunities to benefit customers and shareholders by tapping into Liberty’s competitive advantages, which include enhanced absence management, extensive claim clinical resources and broader broker and consultant relationships.

“Today’s announcement uniquely positions each company to expand on their core strengths, profitability and market presence,” said David H. Long, Liberty Mutual chairman and chief executive officer. “For Liberty, the transaction is an integral part of our overall strategy to focus on our property and casualty business. Lincoln Financial and Protective will each benefit from Liberty’s profitable book of business and its momentum in the Group, Individual Life and Annuity businesses, as well as from the addition of our many talented and committed employees.”

The combined organization will meet the evolving needs of employers and employees by featuring Life, Disability, Dental, Vision, Critical Illness, and Accident insurance, plus a full suite of enhanced absence management services. It will also have access to 10 million insureds and enable Lincoln Financial to accelerate its employee-paid sales, which has been an increasing area of focus.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower people to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our retirement, insurance, and wealth protection expertise to help address their lifestyle, savings, and income goals, as well as to guard against long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $246 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2017. Lincoln Financial Group is a committed corporate citizen and was named one of the Forbes Best Employers for 2017, is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America, and received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2017 Corporate Equality Index. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Sign up for email alerts at http://newsroom.lfg.com.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

Liberty Mutual’s purpose is to help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow. Keeping this promise means we are there when our policyholders throughout the world need us most.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, Mass., today we are a leading global insurer with operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. We are the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2016 direct written premium data as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. We also rank 75th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2016 revenue. As of December 31, 2016, we had $38.3 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

We employ more than 50,000 people in over 800 offices throughout the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, commercial automobile, general liability, property, surety, workers compensation, specialty lines, and reinsurance. You can learn more about us by visiting www.libertymutualinsurance.com.

About Protective

Protective Life Corporation provides financial services through the production, distribution and administration of insurance and investment products throughout the U.S. The flagship subsidiary, Protective Life Insurance Company, was founded in 1907. Protective’s home office is located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of December 31, 2016 the Company had assets of approximately $75.0 billion. Protective Life Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750, “Dai-ichi”)

For more information on Protective, please visitwww.Protective.com.

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