Brand Recognition: Aflac’s success and momentum continued into the new millennium with the launch of the Aflac Duck campaign that catapulted Aflac’s consumer awareness to where about 9 out of 10 people recognize the Aflac brand in both the United States and Japan. | |||
2000 |  Jan. 1, The Aflac Duck appeared on the scene in its first commercial “Park Bench.” Since then, the Aflac Duck has become an international advertising icon and has appeared in numerous commercials. | ||
2003 | The Aflac Duck was introduced in Japan and shortly thereafter, Aflac Japan became the No. 1 insurance company in their country in terms of the number of individual policies in force. | ||
2005 | Aflac changed its logo to include the Aflac Duck. Aflac pledged $1 million to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial at West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. | ||
2008 | Aflac became the first publicly owned company in the United States to give shareholders a non-binding “Say on Pay” advisory vote on compensation. In the 2000s, Aflac continued to accomplish great things, and the world was taking notice. Throughout the 2000s, Aflac was included multiple times on Fortune magazine’s list of the Best Companies to Work For as well as its list of the Most Admired Companies and Ethisphere’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, just to name a few. | ||
2009 | Aflac completed its acquisition of Continental American Insurance Company, which is currently branded as Aflac Group Insurance. | ||
The 2010s: Spreading Our Wings | |||
2011 | Aflac U.S. exceeded $5 billion in annualized premiums in force for the first time. Aflac was the first company to contribute more than $1 million to the Red Cross for tsunami relief after a tragic earthquake off of Northeastern Japan. | ||
2012 |  For the first time, Aflac invited a patient at the Aflac Cancer Center to design the popular Aflac Holiday Duck. Each year, thousands of plush ducks are sold in Macy’s stores throughout the country and online, with the net profits from the duck going help to support children’s cancer treatment programs in the area where the duck was sold. | ||
2013 |  Aflac CEO Dan Amos accepted the “Salute to Greatness” award from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta. | ||
2015 | Aflac names Teresa White as President of Aflac U.S. and Audrey Boone Tillman as General Counsel, making them the first African Americans and the first women to hold their respective top leadership positions. | ||
2016 | Aflac was the first corporation to donate $1 million to The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture as part of its diversity initiatives. | ||
2017 | Aflac cut the ribbon for Empowered Benefits (now Empowered), a benefits administration and enrollment software company owned by Aflac Incorporated. | ||
2018 | My Special Aflac Duck®, a social robot designed to help children cope with cancer, was introduced at CES and received the Best in Show and Tech for Good award; it was subsequently named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2018. | ||
2019 | In October 2019, Aflac opened an office in Northern Ireland. In November 2019, Aflac completed its acquisition of Argus Dental and Vision. | ||
The 2020s: A decade of helping close gaps in health care | |||
2020 | Dan Amos celebrated his 30th anniversary as CEO, and we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Aflac was among first to move more than 90% of employees to remote work configuration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||
2022 | In January 2022, Aflac launched a national initiative, Close the Gap, to help address medical debt and disparities in health and wealth in America, an issue that affects close to 50% of Americans and disproportionately impacts people of color and those in low-income communities. In February 2022, after significant research, Aflac adapted its award-winning My Special Aflac Duck® program for children with cancer to include children with sickle cell disease and blood disorders. More than 1,000 requests were received within the first month of the newly designed program for this disease that impacts more than 100,000 Americans. | ||
2023 | Virgil Miller is named President of Aflac U.S., succeeding retiring Teresa White. Aflac exceeded 25,000 deliveries of My Special Aflac Duck to kids with cancer and sickle cell disease in the U.S., Japan and Northern Ireland. Aflac was named to Ethisphere’s list of World’s Most Ethical Companies for 17th consecutive year, making Aflac the only insurance company in the world to appear on this list every year since its inception in 2007. | ||
