COLUMBUS, Ga. and SEATTLE,
Dec. 14,
2023 /PRNewswire/ --
"Since the establishment of a strategic business alliance in
November 2020, Aflac
Incorporated and Trupanion have shared a common belief that
employers should consider a package of benefits for their
employees to address the increasing number of consumers
whose pets are a vital part of their families. Our
collaboration addresses the growing need for solutions that help
pet owners manage rising veterinary care costs. Together, we have
launched a suite of high-quality pet medical insurance products
available at U.S. worksites. After testing this alignment in
Japan, a key market for Aflac, a
decision was made to withdraw from development in Japan, and instead the companies are focusing
on the larger, underpenetrated North American pet insurance
market."
Aflac Incorporated's $200
million investment in Trupanion and our distribution
alliance underscores our mutual commitment to unlock the
significant, long-term potential of this category and our belief in
the products offered by Trupanion, the largest provider of pet
medical insurance in North
America. Our corporate worksite solution
addresses increased interest to provide employees with
comprehensive benefits for their pets, just as Aflac has
helped provide financial protection for policyholders for
nearly seven decades."
About Aflac Incorporated
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:
AFL), a Fortune 500 company, has helped provide financial
protection and peace of mind for more than 68 years to millions of
policyholders and customers through its subsidiaries in the U.S.
and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac is
the No. 1 provider of supplemental health insurance
products.1 In Japan,
Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of cancer and
medical insurance in terms of policies in force. The Company takes
pride in being there for its policyholders when they need us most,
as well as being included in 2023 in the World's Most Ethical
Companies by Ethisphere for 17 consecutive years, Fortune's World's
Most Admired Companies for 22 years and Bloomberg's Gender-Equality
Index for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, the Company
became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment
(PRI) in 2021 and has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability
North America Index (2023) for 10 years. To find out how to get
help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us
at aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol. Investors may learn more
about Aflac Incorporated at investors.aflac.com and its
commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainability
under "Sustainability."
1 LIMRA 2022 U.S. Supplemental Health Insurance
Total Market Report
About Trupanion
Trupanion (Nasdaq: TRUP) is a leader
in medical insurance for cats and dogs throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Puerto
Rico and Australia with
over 960,000 pets enrolled. For over two decades, Trupanion has
given pet owners peace of mind so they can focus on their pet's
recovery, not financial stress. Trupanion is committed to providing
pet owners with the highest value in pet medical insurance with
unlimited payouts for the life of their pets. With its patented
process, Trupanion is the only North American provider with the
technology to pay veterinarians directly in seconds at the time of
checkout. Trupanion is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol "TRUP".
The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in
Seattle, WA. Trupanion policies
are issued, in the United States,
by its wholly-owned insurance entity American Pet Insurance Company
and, in Canada, by Omega General
Insurance Company. Trupanion Australia is a partnership between
Trupanion and Hollard Insurance Company. For more information,
please visit trupanion.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
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.
Aflac and Trupanion 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 implementation of
the alliance, the exploration of opportunities in Japan, the
acquisition of Trupanion equity by Aflac, and 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," "outlook" or similar words as
well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify
as forward-looking. Aflac and Trupanion undertake no obligation to
update such forward-looking statements.
The companies caution readers that the following factors, in
addition to other factors mentioned by either company in its
respective SEC filings from time to time, could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated by the
forward-looking statements:
- difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy,
including inflation and the continued effects caused by
COVID-19
- defaults and credit downgrades of investments
- global fluctuations in interest rates and exposure to
significant interest rate risk
- concentration of business in Japan
- limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated
investments
- foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange
rate
- differing interpretations applied to investment valuations
- significant valuation judgments in determination of expected
credit losses recorded on the Company's investments
- decreases in the Company's financial strength or debt
ratings
- decline in creditworthiness of other financial
institutions
- concentration of the Company's investments in any particular
single-issuer or sector
- major public health issues, including COVID-19 and any
resulting or coincidental economic effects, on the Company's
business and financial results
- the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified sales
associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners
- deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving
assumptions
- ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in
information technology systems and on successful execution of
revenue growth and expense management initiatives
- interruption in telecommunication, information technology and
other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security,
confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such
systems
- subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Parent
Company
- inherent limitations to risk management policies and
procedures
- operational risks of third-party vendors
- tax rates applicable to the Company may change
- failure to comply with restrictions on policyholder privacy and
information security
- extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by
governmental authorities
- competitive environment and ability to anticipate and respond
to market trends
- catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, as a result
of climate change, epidemics, pandemics (such as COVID-19),
tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, war or other military
action, terrorism or other acts of violence, and damage incidental
to such events
- ability to protect the Aflac brand and the Company's
reputation
- ability to effectively manage key executive succession changes
in accounting standards
- level and outcome of litigation
- allegations or determinations of worker misclassification in
the United States
Aflac Incorporated
Analyst and investor contact - David A.
Young, 706.596.3264; 800.235.2667 or
dyoung@aflac.com
Media contact - Ines Gutzmer,
762.207.7601 or igutzmer@aflac.com
Trupanion
Laura Bainbridge, Head of
Corporate Communications, 206.607.1929 or
laura.bainbridge@trupanion.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statement-from-aflac-incorporated-and-trupanion-confirming-commitment-to-strategic-alliance-in-north-america-302016214.html
SOURCE Aflac Incorporated