This arrangement provides further strength to Lincoln Financial Group’s distribution network. Financial Foundations, Lincoln’s menu based protection proposition, is also available to financial advisers from Lincoln’s key distribution partner groups.
Lincoln’s income protection rates are reviewable but guaranteed for ten years, compared with the majority of competitors which review after only five years. Customers may also benefit from a potential surrender value if circumstances change. Single or joint life independent benefits are available with only one policy fee. Lincoln is paid out £4,104,000 annually to people who would not otherwise have an income.
Ian Noble, head of strategic partnerships at Lincoln, commented: “We are delighted to have been accepted as an approved provider of income protection cover on the Exchange distribution platform.
“Our income protection product is designed to provide intermediaries with a plan which is competitively priced while providing flexibility and convenience. Appearing on The Exchange is further testimony to our efforts to ensure Lincoln is a market-leading provider of protection cover, providing advisers and their clients with an efficient and affordable solution.”
Lincoln’s life cover proposition, another key part of the company’s Financial Foundations product, is also available on The Exchange.
Financial Foundations is a multi-benefit protection product, providing a range of benefits in one place under one wrapper. The product menu consists of life cover, critical illness cover, permanent disability cover, elderly care cover, income protection cover and waiver of premium.
Financial Foundations allows IFAs to provide their clients with a flexible approach to protection planning; clients can add or remove from the product menu, amounts can be increased or decreased at any time with no additional administration charge (health evidence may be required), premiums can be set up on a minimum or a standard basis, and cover plans can be pre-funded or targeted to last for a specific term. Financial Foundations provides complete lifetime flexibility and retention.
Lincoln’s Financial Foundations product is designed principally for independent financial adviser distribution and is accessible to IFAs through The Exchange.
In 2004, Lincoln made over £434 million in payments to policy holders, which included £32.4 million in death claims and £13.1 million in respect of critical illness and income protection payments.
