Forward Looking Statements — Cautionary Language
Certain statements made in these materials and in other written or oral statements made by Lincoln or on Lincoln's behalf are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA"). A forward-looking statement is a statement that is not a historical fact and, without limitation, includes any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words like: "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "project", "will", "shall" and other words or phrases with similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, trends in Lincoln's businesses, prospective services or products, future performance or financial results, and the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings. Lincoln claims the protection afforded by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the PSLRA.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results contained in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially, some of which are described within the forward-looking statements include, among others:
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Continued deterioration in general economic and business conditions, both domestic and foreign, that may affect foreign exchange rates, premium levels, claims experience, the level of pension benefit costs and funding and investment results;
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Continued economic declines and credit market illiquidity could cause Lincoln to realize additional impairments on investments and certain intangible assets, including goodwill and a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets, which may reduce future earnings and/or affect Lincoln's financial condition and ability to raise additional capital or refinance existing debt as it matures;
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Continued uncertainty about the impact of existing or new stimulus legislation on the economy;
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The cost and other consequences of Lincoln's participation in the Capital Purchase Program, including the impact of existing and future regulations to which Lincoln and/or its subsidiaries may become subject;
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Legislative, regulatory or tax changes, both domestic and foreign, that affect the cost of, or demand for, Lincoln subsidiaries' products, the required amount of reserves and/or surplus, or otherwise affect Lincoln's ability to conduct business, including changes to statutory reserves and/or risk-based capital ("RBC") requirements related to secondary guarantees under universal life and variable annuity products such as Actuarial Guideline ("AG") 43 ("AG43" also known as Commissioners Annuity Reserve Valuation Method for Variable Annuities or "VACARVM"); restrictions on revenue sharing and 12b-1 payments; and the potential for U.S. Federal tax reform;
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The initiation of legal or regulatory proceedings against Lincoln, and the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings, such as: adverse actions related to present or past business practices common in businesses in which Lincoln and its subsidiaries compete; adverse decisions in significant actions including, but not limited to, actions brought by federal and state authorities and extra-contractual and class action damage cases; new decisions that result in changes in law; and unexpected trial court rulings;
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Changes in interest rates causing a reduction of investment income, the margins of Lincoln subsidiaries' fixed annuity and life insurance businesses and demand for their products;
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A decline in the equity markets causing a reduction in the sales of Lincoln subsidiaries' products, a reduction of asset-based fees that Lincoln subsidiaries charge on various investment and insurance products, an acceleration of amortization of deferred acquisition costs, value of business acquired, deferred sales inducements and deferred front-end loads and an increase in liabilities related to guaranteed benefit features of Lincoln subsidiaries' variable annuity products;
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Ineffectiveness of Lincoln's various hedging strategies used to offset the impact of changes in the value of liabilities due to changes in the level and volatility of the equity markets and interest rates;
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A deviation in actual experience regarding future persistency, mortality, morbidity, interest rates or equity market returns from the assumptions used in pricing Lincoln subsidiaries' products, in establishing related insurance reserves and in the amortization of intangibles that may result in an increase in reserves and a decrease in net income;
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Changes in GAAP that may result in unanticipated changes to Lincoln's net income;
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Lowering of one or more of Lincoln's debt ratings issued by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on Lincoln's ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition;
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Lowering of one or more of the insurer financial strength ratings of Lincoln's insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the premium writings, policy retention, profitability of Lincoln's insurance subsidiaries and liquidity;
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Significant credit, accounting, fraud or corporate governance issues that may adversely affect the value of certain investments in Lincoln's portfolios requiring that Lincoln realize losses on such investments;
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The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Lincoln's ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated results and synergies from acquisitions;
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The adequacy and collectibility of reinsurance that Lincoln has purchased;
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Acts of terrorism, a pandemic, war or other man-made and natural catastrophes that may adversely affect Lincoln's businesses and the cost and availability of reinsurance;
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Competitive conditions, including pricing pressures, new product offerings and the emergence of new competitors, that may affect the level of premiums and fees that Lincoln subsidiaries can charge for their products;
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The unknown impact on Lincoln subsidiaries' businesses resulting from changes in the demographics of their client base, as aging baby-boomers move from the asset-accumulation stage to the asset-distribution stage of life; and
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Loss of key management, financial planners or wholesalers
The risks included here are not exhaustive. Lincoln's annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed with the SEC include additional factors which could impact the business of Lincoln's subsidiaries and Lincoln's financial performance. Moreover, Lincoln and its subsidiaries operates in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors.
Further, it is not possible to assess the impact of all risk factors on business of Lincoln's subsidiaries or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. In addition, Lincoln disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of the report.
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