Aflac 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09
Japan U.S.
16.6
9.7 9.6 10.3
11.4
13.3
14.4 14.6 15.4
$18.3
Total Revenues
(In billions)
Total revenues benefited
from a stronger yen and
rose 10.3% to a record
$18.3 billion in 2009.
Aac Japan
For two decades Aac Japan has
demonstrated that it can effectively
operate and grow in a weak economic
environment. During challenging times,
we have leveraged our core competitive
strengths, which have continued to
position Aac as the number one seller
of both cancer and stand-alone medical
insurance, and as the largest insurer
in Japan in terms of individual policies
in force. 2009 marked our 35th year
of operating in Japan, and by the end
of our anniversary year, we achieved
another milestone in Japan – exceeding
20 million individual policies in force
– and we did it a year earlier than we
had expected.
Aac Japan’s ability to effectively
navigate a challenging economic
environment is a direct result of
innovative product development,
distribution expansion and marketing
creativity. In 2009, we introduced two
very successful products – a revised
medical policy and a child endowment
policy, which is basically an educational
savings plan. Both of these products
were very well received by our sales
force and customers. At the same
time, we achieved greater distribution
through new agent recruitment and
growth of the recently opened bank
channel. We also solidied our strong
brand position and promoted our
products with the help of the much-
loved Aac Duck. We were very pleased
that our products, distribution, and
promotion were major catalysts that
fueled Aac Japan’s sales momentum
in 2009 and allowed us to surpass our
sales target for the year.
We believe the need for our products,
combined with our well-known and well-
respected brand, tremendous scale,
efcient operations, relevant products,
broadening distribution, and dedicated
customer service, will enhance Aac’s
market position and extend Aac
Japan’s sales momentum into 2010.
Aac U.S.
For most U.S. consumers, the
recession was something new and
troubling to say the least. Because we
had rst felt sales pressure from the
weak economy in 2008, we knew it
would be difcult to increase sales in
2009. And as 2009 progressed, it was
clear that the pressure on sales would
endure. As a result, we were not able
to generate new annualized premium
sales growth for the second year in
a row. While weak sales indicate the
demand for our products has been
negatively impacted by the economic
downturn, we believe the disruption
is temporary. Furthermore, we are
convinced that the underlying need for
our products is just as strong as ever.
In fact, I can’t think of a better time to
have an extra layer of protection and
peace of mind than during a nancially
unstable and anxiety-ridden economy.
But we understand that in a time of
high unemployment and low disposable
income, households have to make
tough choices.
We have not been sitting idly by and
simply waiting for the economy to
recover. Instead, we have been taking
actions that we believe will benet
our business in both the short and
long term. For instance, we continued
to pursue product development and
introduced new streamlined cancer and
accident products that we believe are
We’ve got you under our wing.
4