Yahoo Finance Lincoln National (LNC) Strengthens Hospital Indemnity Solution
Lincoln National Corporation LNC recently added three benefits to its Hospital Indemnity solution, which the insurer launched last year in an effort to expand its supplemental health solutions suite. In the very next year of the launch, LNC seems to be prudent to inject three new benefits in a bid to further strengthen the Hospital Indemnity solution.
Shares of Lincoln National lost 0.5% on Dec 1, replicating declines in broader markets.
The advancements are related to newborn care, birth center and affiliated facility benefits. The newborn care benefit offers a person covered under LNC’s Hospital Indemnity plan a cash benefit following childbirth per day till the newborn stays in the hospital. This benefit enables a covered person to avail routine postnatal care for the newborn child.
Meanwhile, the second benefit offers routine care to children delivered in a Birth Center (a medical facility that extends the childbirth experience amid a wholesome and homely environment). The third benefit will be given in case of hospital treatments arising from a covered event at employer-affiliated hospitals.
With an expansive reach across 45 states and the District of Columbia, the Hospital Indemnity solution of Lincoln National seems to be quite useful for Americans in meeting unanticipated hospitalization expenses. The product offers a lump sum payment in case of hospital admission or outpatient surgery of a covered employee or family member, provided the medical expenses are covered illness or injury related.
The latest move of adding extra benefits within the solution is expected to intrigue more Americans, who want a stable financial future, to avail the Hospital Indemnity insurance coverage of Lincoln National. This, in turn, is expected to provide an impetus to LNC’s Group Protection segment through which it distributes hospital indemnity benefits via mostly employee-paid plans to the employer marketplace.
Additionally, the solution upgradation is aptly timed as well, considering the booming demand for supplemental health solutions that instills a need for financial security among Americans. According to a Lincoln National survey, around nine in 10 employees are intrigued to avail Hospital Indemnity insurance as a component of workplace benefits.
Also, rising healthcare expenses continue to grapple nationwide residents and the inflationary pressure has further worsened the scenario, thereby providing LNC’s Hospital Indemnity solution the perfect ground to capitalize on.
Several product launches and upgrades have resulted in a well-diversified product portfolio and boosted sales for Lincoln National.
Shares of Lincoln National have lost 40.8% in a year compared with the industry’s decline of 8%.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Lincoln National currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the insurance space are W. R. Berkley Corporation WRB, Radian Group Inc. RDN and MGIC Investment Corporation MTG. While W.R. Berkley sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Radian Group and MGIC Investment carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
W.R. Berkley’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 25.63%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 26.2%, while the same for revenues suggests growth of 15% from the respective year-ago reported figures. The consensus mark for WRB’s 2022 earnings has moved 4.6% north in the past 60 days.
The bottom line of Radian Group outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 45.10%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RDN’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 49.5% from the year-ago reported number. The consensus mark for RDN’s 2022 earnings has moved 12.7% north in the past 30 days.
MGIC Investment’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 36.34%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MTG’s 2022 earnings indicates a rise of 49.7%, while the same for revenues suggests an improvement of 3.8% from the comparable prior-year actuals. The consensus mark for MTG’s 2022 earnings has moved 12.2% up in the past 30 days.
The W.R. Berkley stock has gained 43.2% in a year. However, shares of Radian Group and MGIC Investment have lost 7.7% and 4.4%, respectively, in the same time frame.
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Lincoln National Corporation (LNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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