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Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2017
Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation [Abstract] |
Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation | LINCOLN NATIONAL CORPORATION NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) 1. Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation ﻿ Nature of Operations ﻿ Lincoln National Corporation and its majority-owned subsidiaries (“LNC” or the “Company,” which also may be referred to as “we,” “our” or “us”) operate multiple insurance businesses through four business segments. See Note 13 for additional details. The collective group of businesses uses “Lincoln Financial Group” as its marketing identity. Through our business segments, we sell a wide range of wealth protection, accumulation and retirement income products and solutions. These products include fixed and indexed annuities, variable annuities, universal life insurance (“UL”), variable universal life insurance (“VUL”), linked-benefit UL, indexed universal life insurance (“IUL”), term life insurance, employer-sponsored retirement plans and services, and group life, disability and dental. ﻿ Basis of Presentation ﻿ The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with United States of America generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Therefore, the information contained in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (“2016 Form 10-K”), should be read in connection with the reading of these interim unaudited consolidated financial statements. ﻿ Certain GAAP policies, which significantly affect the determination of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, are summarized in our 2016 Form 10-K. ﻿ Certain amounts reported in prior year's consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the presentation adopted in the current year. Specifically, we reclassified cash flows from certain investing activities into their own respective line items within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Previously, these amounts were reported within purchases of other investments or sales or maturities of other investments line items, as applicable, within cash flows from investing activities. These reclassifications had no effect on net income (loss), net cash provided by (used in) investing activities, or stockholders’ equity for the prior year. ﻿ In the opinion of management, these statements include all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s results. Operating results for the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2017. All material inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. ﻿

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the general note to the financial statements for the reporting entity which may include, descriptions of the basis of presentation, business description, significant accounting policies, consolidations, reclassifications, new pronouncements not yet adopted and changes in accounting principles. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2197479 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2134479 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 250 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122394 + Details
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