Lincoln National Corporation is an American Holding company. Its core business divisions are insurance and investment management. It provides services through its multiple subsidiaries. It is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, United States. It is marketed by the name of Lincoln Financial Group. The company operates through its offices in the US and employs more than 10,966 people (Forbes, 2021). The company provides retirement plans, life insurance group protection, and other protection to individuals and groups. The Other Operations segment includes the financial data for operations. Porter’s five forces model is a valuable tool to identify threats and opportunities faced by Lincoln National Corporation in the insurance sector in the United States.
Competitive Rivalry in the Market
The insurance industry in the World is very competitive. The competition means that there is little margin for error. The primary rival of LNC’s is Travelers, Metlife, and New York Life Insurance. All of these companies provide insurance, financial asset management services, and products in the United States. LNC provides its services to over 17 million customers in the country. The revenue of Travelers, Metlife, and New York Life Insurance are $31.981 Billion (Fortune, 2021), $65.567 Billion (Fortune, 2021), and $44.117 Billion (Fortune, 2021), respectively, as compared to the revenue of LNC $17.258 Billion (Fortune, 2021). LNC faces tough completion in the market due to the presence of other major companies. LNC has a minor advantage over the competitor is due to its more extensive clientele and multiple products. It caters to individuals, corporate companies, and the government. It needs to adapt to the changing market and introduce the product to grow its client base for better financial stability.
Threat of Substitutes
The insurance industry evolves with time to meet the demand of the time. Technology is the driving force behind the latest revolution all over the industries. Fintech and insurtech are the future of the financial industry. Industry runners as developing tools with the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide a customized and better solution for the client. Companies are investing in Blockchain Technology. It can be used to innovating insurance products and services for growth, increasing effectiveness in fraud detection and pricing, and reducing administrative costs (Mckinsey, 2016). The threat of substitutes is moderate in the industry, but LNC is not adapting fast to the change. It can lose its market share to other companies if it did not innovate in the near future.
The Threat of new entrants
The financial industry is strictly regulated all over the world. It is due to the sensitivity of the industry and the dependence of the country’s economies on it. The regulatory authorities set their rules to protect the economies from the crisis. Such as the financial crisis of 2008. The higher initial cost and high sunk investment make it difficult for a startup to compete with established insurance companies. The major products in the insurance industry are pretty much the same. The 21st century is evolving the financial sector. The insurtech can pose a serious threat to the business. It will not be able to take over the industry but it can be used as a tool to develop better products. Insurtech startups have drawn around $17 Billion in investment in the last decade (Deloitte, 2019). The startups can affect the overall business profit. The threat of new entrants is at a moderate level.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The buyers of financial products are individuals, business companies, and government institutes. The individual buyers are individual end-users of the product, whereas companies are the retailer or wholesalers (Hill & Jones, 2012). The individual buyer cannot exert any power against financial institutes. It only requires a product for itself and purchasing capacity is limited. At the same time, business companies and government institutes can claim better deals. Companies have more bargaining power because they provide more extensive clientele and opt for their services in bulk. Which provides them long-term clients and financial stability for the future. A significant portion of LNC’s clientele is worker’s compensation insurance, life insurance, and asset management. The overall bargaining power of buyers is moderate.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Suppliers in the insurance industry are mainly of two types. The agent and brokerage firms that bring human capital and corporate clients to the insurance company. The other one is the lending institutes which provide funds in case of payment. Suppliers can exert power if the market has fewer suppliers and it has clients under him. The suppliers with the better distribution channel and marketing can get a better deal for Insurance Corporation. Suppliers typically exert high bargaining power when they are offering the exclusive product or specialized services, or when they control the source of the material provided. Lending institutes hold higher power because they lend loan due diligence. The suppliers need to be forward integrated as well to be able to stick in the market (HBR, 1979). Overall the bargaining power is moderate against the insurance industry.
References
Deloitte. (2019). Accelerating insurance innovation in the age of InsurTech. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/financial-services/us-accelerating-insurance-innovation.pdf
Forbes. (2021). Lincoln National. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/companies/lincoln-national/?sh=6d61eafe3911
Fortune. (2021). Fortune 500 Lincoln National. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/lincoln-national/fortune500/
Fortune. (2021). Fortune 500 Metlife. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/metlife/fortune500/
Fortune. (2021). Fortune 500 New York Life Insurance. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/new-york-life-insurance/fortune500/
Fortune. (2021). Fortune 500 Travelers. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/travelers-cos/fortune500/
Harvard Business Review. (1979) How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Available at: https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forces-shape-strategy
Hill, J., 2012, Essentials of Strategic Management, 3rd Edition. South-Western,
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/regulatory/articles/cost-of-compliance-regulatory-productivity.html
Mckinsey. (2016). Blockchain in insurance – opportunity or threat?. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Financial%20Services/Our%20Insights/Blockchain%20in%20insurance%20opportunity%20or%20threat/Blockchain-in-insurance-opportunity-or-threat.ashx