. aflac inc. type public traded as nyse afl s & p 500 component industry financial services founded june 23 1955 ; 61 years ago 1955 06 23 founder john amos paul amos bill amos headquarters aflac building columbus georgia u.s. area served japan united states key people dan amos chairman ceo products supplemental health and life insurance revenue us 22.171 billion fy 2011 1 operating income 2.992 billion fy 2011 1 net income 1.964 billion fy 2011 1 total assets us 121.307 billion 2013 2 us 131.094 billion 2012 2 total equity 13.506 billion fy 2011 1 number of employees 9 235 december 2014 2 website aflac.com aflac inc. fl k american family life assurance company is an american insurance company and is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the united states 3 founded in 1955 and based in columbus georgia . in the u.s. aflac underwrites a wide range of insurance policies but is perhaps more known for its payroll deduction insurance coverage which pays cash benefits when a policyholder has a covered accident or illness . the company states it provides financial protection to more than 50 million people worldwide . 4 in 2009 aflac acquired continental american insurance company for 100 million ; 5 this enabled aflac to sell supplemental insurance on both the individual and group platform . 6 as of june 30 2012 aflac was represented by approximately 19 300 sales agencies in japan and 76 900 licensed sales associates in the u.s. 7 contents 1 history 2 business 3 critics of cancer policies 4 the aflac duck 5 corporate philanthropy and social responsibility 6 award programs 7 awards and honors 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit the company was founded by brothers john paul died 2014 and william amos in columbus georgia in 1955 as american family life insurance company of columbus . in 1964 the company name was changed to american family life assurance company of columbus . the company in 1990 adopted the aflac initials although the official name of the underwriting subsidiary remains american family life assurance company of columbus . aflac announced the appointment of frederick j. crawford as chief financial officer as well as executive vice president in june 2015 . 8 the company signed 6 426 policyholders in its first year . 9 aflac pioneered cancer insurance in 1958 . beginning in 1964 the company decided to focus sales on worksite settings eventually through policies sponsored by employers and funded through payroll deductions . by 2003 more than 98 % of aflac policies in the united states were issued on a payroll deduction basis making the company a leader in that approach to policy distribution . business edit aflac operates in the united states and japan and has its worldwide headquarters and corporate offices in an eighteen story tower just east of downtown columbus georgia in an area known as midtown . the aflac tower is the tallest building in the city . as of june 30 2015 the corporation s total assets were more than 103 billion and the company insured more than 50 million people worldwide . 10 aflac is the largest provider of guaranteed renewable insurance in the united states and the largest insurance company overall in japan when measured by individual insurance policies in force . 11 the company now offers several types of insurance policies in the united states including the following accident cancer specified disease dental hospital confinement indemnity hospital confinement sickness indemnity hospital intensive care life lump sum cancer lump sum cancer critical illness specified health event short term disability vision aflac also offers un reimbursed medical dependent day care and transportation flexible spending accounts . the company also offers human resources services for hipaa and cobra . from 1979 to 1997 the company owned several television stations most of them in small and medium markets . it sold the broadcasting division to what became raycom media in 1997 . 12 critics of cancer policies edit consumer groups and some government officials say that cancer insurance returns fewer premium dollars to policyholders than standard insurance . a united states general accounting office study found that the policies paid back as little as 35 % of premiums aflac said its cancer insurance paid back 62.4 % . in comparison new york state requires most major medical policies to pay back 82 % and group policies to pay back 75 % . new york state does not allow stand alone cancer policies . in 1997 aflac spent 175 000 on lobbyists and campaign contributions to change the law . 13 new york state lifted its ban in 1998 for purchasers who already have basic coverage . consumer reports recommended that policyholders use the money instead to buy lower deductible insurance . 14 insurance claims by line appear on the annual statement filed with each state . loss claims are a percent of total premium before commissions . the aflac duck edit since december 1999 the company s identity and brand has become more widely recognized in the united states as the result of tv commercials featuring the aflac duck who frustratedly quacks the company s name to unsuspecting prospective policy holders . the duck concept and all of the commercials to date have been created by kaplan thaler group an advertising agency based in new york city . metzer farms a gonzales california goose duck and gamebird hatchery supplied them with the initial ducklings that each grew into the famous duck . struggling to come up with a concept to make the big but relatively obscure insurance company s name memorable one of the agency s art directors stumbled upon the duck idea while walking around central park at lunchtime uttering aflac aflac . he soon realized how much the company s name sounded like a duck s quack . the aflac duck character has now starred in more than 30 commercials . in many of these commercials character actor earl billings also appears . the aflac duck is enshrined on madison avenue s walk of fame as one of america s favorite advertising icons . 15 in april 2009 aflac introduced a new marketing campaign called get the aflacts designed to educate consumers about the specific benefits of the insurance products the company sells . the aflacts campaign gave the aflac duck a more prominent role designed to help potential customers learn the aflacts er facts about policies and other products according to the new york times . 16 celebrities have starred in the aflac ads including chevy chase 2003 ; yogi berra ; yao ming ; donald trump s wife melania trump ; nascar sprint cup series driver carl edwards 2008 2014 ; the united states olympic synchronized swimming team 2004 ; and wayne newton playing at stardust hotel and casino for the 2003 commercial . the duck also appeared with bugs bunny daffy duck wile e. coyote and the road runner and rudolph the red nosed reindeer . 17 in 2005 the company logo was changed to incorporate the duck . the first commercial using the new logo featured gilbert gottfried at a pet store because the duck kept saying aflac and he had to trade in the duck for a parrot saying if you re hurt and can t work . citation needed the duck was voiced by comedian gilbert gottfried who also voices digit on the pbs kids series cyberchase and iago in the disney film aladdin . 18 after 11 years as the voice of the aflac duck gottfried was dismissed on march 14 2011 due to postings on gottfried s twitter account referencing the t hoku earthquake and tsunami . the company s chief marketing officer stated that gilbert s recent comments about the crisis in japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at aflac . 19 on march 23 2011 aflac announced that the company was taking applications for the new voice of the aflac duck through quackaflac.com until april 1 . commercials requesting the submissions first aired in 2006 but updated resemble a silent movie . 20 21 on april 26 2011 it was announced that daniel mckeague a television advertising sales manager from hugo minnesota would be the new voice of the aflac duck . 22 the first aflac commercial featuring the duck s new voice aired on may 1 2011 . the duck has become so closely identified with aflac that in 2005 it adopted a logo incorporating the duck s face . corporate philanthropy and social responsibility edit the company states that through a partnership with children s healthcare of atlanta aflac has contributed more than 100 million to childhood cancer research and treatment . 23 aflac employees are formally involved in an array of charitable organizations such as habitat for humanity international the easter seals and the united way . 24 aflac s stated objectives include the decrease of its environmental impact for which the company is into a partnership with the clean air campaign to encourage employees to engage with greater frequency in alternate commuting methods . 25 award programs edit aflac national high school baseball player of the year first presented in 2004 . 26 27 the jackie robinson award is given to the high school player who is entering his senior year and who best displays character leadership and the values of being a student athlete in academics and community affairs . 26 the award is presented at an annual all american awards banquet which was first held in 2003 . 28 the banquet follows the annual all american baseball classic an east west all star game featuring the 38 best players from around the nation who are entering their senior year of high school . 26 28 first held in 2003 the game is played at petco park san diego california . 26 29 proceeds from the game and banquet are donated to rady children s hospital in san diego and its fight against childhood cancer . 29 in 2011 the name of the all star game was changed to the perfect game all american classic . 29 awards and honors edit aflac has been the recipient of several awards aflac has appeared on fortune s 100 best companies to work for list for 17 consecutive years . aflac has appeared on fortune s america s most admired companies list for 14 years . aflac has been recognized by ethisphere magazine as a world s most ethical companies for 10 consecutive years and is the only insurance company to do so . 30 aflac has been named to the dow jones sustainability index north america for four consecutive years . in august september 2015 latina style magazine placed aflac in the top 20 of the 50 best companies for latinas to work for in the united states . aflac has been on this annual list for 17 years . aflac has appeared on black enterprise magazine s list of the top 40 best companies for diversity for nine years . aflac was named one of the 100 best workplaces in the united states by great places to work and fortune . see also edit list of united states insurance companies references edit a b c d aflac form 10 k annual report filing date feb 27 2012 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved december 31 2012 . a b c annual report form 10 k . united states securities and exchange commission . february 27 2014 . aflac profit rises 20 % on japanese currency strength bloomberg 29 april 2009 about aflac 1 accessed september 15 2015 . aflac form 8 k current report filing date july 29 2009 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved december 31 2012 . 2 from aflac.com aflac form 10 q quarterly report filing date august 3 2012 pdf . secdatabase.com . retrieved january 1 2013 . adams