Aflac a World's Most Admired Company for 11th Time

COLUMBUS, Ga., March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the number one provider of supplemental insurance in the United States, serving more than 466,000 businesses across the country, has been ranked a World's Most Admired Company by FORTUNE magazine for the 11th time. The voluntary insurance giant finished No. 1 in the Social Responsibility and Innovation categories for the life & health insurance industry and No. 2 overall for the category. Aflac joins eight other companies based in Georgia on the 2012 list. According to FORTUNE, the Most Admired list is the definitive report card on corporate reputations.

"It is a tremendous honor for Aflac, our employees and our 191,000 independent field associates in the U.S. and Japan to be recognized as a FORTUNE's World's Most Admired Company for the 11th time," Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos said. "As a company whose culture is based on our long held commitment to doing the right thing for customers, shareholders and stakeholders, we are particularly proud to lead the industry for social responsibility and innovation."

To compile the list of Most Admired Companies, FORTUNE started with approximately 1,400 companies: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue; non-U.S. companies in FORTUNE's Global 500 database with revenue of $10 billion or more; and the top foreign companies operating in the U.S.  Extracted from that list were a total of 698 companies from 32 countries, which were analyzed on nine criteria, from investment value to social responsibility.

The World's Most Admired Companies survey is conducted by the Hay Group, a global management consulting firm. The 2012 list currently appears online at FORTUNE.com.  Companies finishing within the top half of their industry will appear in the print edition of FORTUNE magazine on March 19, 2012.

ABOUT AFLAC
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than 55 years, Aflac insurance policies have helped provide a safety net and given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance. In Japan, Aflac is the number one life insurance company in terms of individual policies in force. Aflac insurance products provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For five consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies and by Forbes magazine as one of America's Best-Managed Companies in the Insurance category. In 2012, FORTUNE magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America for the 14th consecutive year. Also, FORTUNE magazine included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 11th time in 2012. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit aflac.com or aflacenespanol.com.

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SOURCE Aflac