Lincoln Financial Group plans to extend its small business area to serve two to 14 lives, up from two to nine lives, the company announced Monday.

The company says the move will expand the company's presence in the small group benefits and increase sales opportunities for sales representatives and brokers.

"By increasing the group size for up to 14 lives, we will increase Lincoln Financial's market penetration, while allowing our sales representatives to concentrate on larger group cases and Lincoln's new worksite products, including our accident and disability insurance products," said Bob Risk, senior vice president of Group Protection Sales. "This new flexibility will make Lincoln an even more attractive provider for our brokers' small-business clients."