COLUMBUS, Ga., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aflac Incorporated
(NYSE: AFL) today announced that it had been notified by Standard & Poor's
this afternoon that the rating agency had lowered Aflac's financial strength
rating from AA to AA- and the company's debt rating from A to A- due to their
concerns about the continued deterioration in global financial markets and
Aflac's investment exposure to global financial institutions. This is only a
lowering of one notch by the rating agency. Additionally, S&P has placed
Aflac on credit watch with negative implications.
Commenting on the ratings change, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Daniel P. Amos stated: "I am very surprised and disappointed by this
development, and as I conveyed in this morning's press release, we remain very
confident in our overall business model and our operations. We are equally
confident with the quality of our balance sheet and our capital position, and
we believe that there is a strong need for the products we sell. For many
years we have pursued a consistent investment approach, which we believe is in
the best interests of our policyholders and shareholders."
The company is set to release fourth quarter 2008 results after the market
closes on February 2, 2009. Aflac Incorporated will webcast its fourth quarter
investor presentation via the "Investors" page of aflac.com at 6:40 p.m. (EST)
on Tuesday, February 3, 2009.
For more than 50 years, Aflac products have given policyholders the
opportunity to direct cash where it is needed most when a life-interrupting
medical event causes financial challenges. Aflac is the number one provider of
guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States and the number one
insurance company in terms of individual insurance policies in force in Japan.
Our insurance products provide protection to more than 40 million people
worldwide. Aflac has been included in Fortune magazine's list of America's
Most Admired Companies for seven years and in Fortune magazine's list of the
100 Best Companies to Work For in America for eleven consecutive years. Aflac
has been recognized three times by both Fortune magazine's list of the Top 50
Employers for Minorities and Working Mother magazine's list of the 100 Best
Companies for Working Mothers and has also been included in Ethisphere
magazine's list of the World's Most Ethical Companies for two consecutive
years. 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.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe
harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as
those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are
accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in
the forward-looking statements. We desire to take advantage of these
provisions. This document contains cautionary statements identifying important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected herein, and in any other statements made by company officials in
communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and
relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other
developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous
assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing
words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may,"
"should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes," "potential,"
"target" or similar words as well as specific projections of future results,
generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update
such forward-looking statements. We caution readers that the following
factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time could cause
actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the
forward-looking statements: legislative and regulatory developments, including
changes to health care and health insurance delivery; assessments for
insurance company insolvencies; competitive conditions in the United States
and Japan; new product development and customer response to new products and
new marketing initiatives; ability to attract and retain qualified sales
associates and employees; ability to repatriate profits from Japan; changes in
U.S. and/or Japanese tax laws or accounting requirements; credit and other
risks associated with Aflac's investment activities; significant changes in
investment yield rates; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions
including, but not limited to, morbidity, mortality, persistency, expenses and
investment yields; level and outcome of litigation; downgrades in the
company's credit rating; changes in rating agency policies or practices;
subsidiary's ability to pay dividends to the parent company; ineffectiveness
of hedging strategies; catastrophic events; and general economic conditions in
the United States and Japan, including increased uncertainty in the U.S. and
international financial markets.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041202/CLTH019LOGO )
Analyst and investor contact - Kenneth S. Janke Jr., 800.235.2667 -
option 3, FAX: 706.324.6330, or kjanke@aflac.com
Media contact - Laura Kane, 706.596.3493, FAX: 706.320.2288, or
lkane@aflac.com
SOURCE Aflac Incorporated