Cover and table of contents

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Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)



☒	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019



☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 001-07434



Aflac Incorporated
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



Georgia			58-1167100
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)			(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1932 Wynnton Road	Columbus	Georgia	31999
(Address of principal executive offices)			(ZIP Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 706**.**323.3431

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:



Title of each class	Trading Symbols(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.10 Par Value	AFL	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ¨ Yes þ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). þ Yes ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.



Large accelerated filer	þ	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	¨	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ☐ Yes þ No

The aggregate market value of the voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 28, 2019, was $40,396,253,541.

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding at February 12, 2020, with $.10 par value, was 722,520,700.

Documents Incorporated By Reference

Certain information contained in the Notice and Proxy Statement for the Company’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders is incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.

Aflac Incorporated

Annual Report on Form 10-K

For the Year Ended December 31, 2019

Table of Contents





PART I			Page

	Item 1.	Business	2

	Item 1A.	Risk Factors	11

	Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	27

	Item 2.	Properties	28

	Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	28

	Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	28

PART II

	Item 5.	Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	29

	Item 6.	Selected Financial Data	32

	Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	34

	Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	69

	Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	77

	Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	170

	Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	170

	Item 9B.	Other Information	170

PART III

	Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	171

	Item 11.	Executive Compensation	171

	Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	171

	Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	171

	Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	171

PART IV

	Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	172

	Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	173

Glossary of Select Terms			174

Item 1. Business

PART I

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 Incorporated and its subsidiaries (the Company) desire to take advantage of these provisions. This report 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 the ones listed below or similar words, as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.



• expect	• anticipate	• believe	• goal	• objective
• may	• should	• estimate	• intends	• projects
• will	• assumes	• potential	• target	• outlook

The Company cautions 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:


•	ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners


•	events related to the ongoing Japan Post investigation and other matters


•	competitive environment and ability to anticipate and respond to market trends


•	deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions


•	ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems


•	defaults and credit downgrades of investments


•	exposure to significant interest rate risk


•	concentration of business in Japan


•	limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments


•	failure to comply with restrictions on policyholder privacy and information security


•	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


•	catastrophic events including, but not necessarily limited to, epidemics, pandemics, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, war or other military action, terrorism or other acts of violence, and damage incidental to such events


•	difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy


•	ability to protect the Aflac brand and the Company's reputation


•	extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities


•	foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate


•	tax rates applicable to the Company may change


•	decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions


•	significant valuation judgments in determination of amount of impairments taken on the Company's investments


•	U.S. tax audit risk related to conversion of the Japan branch to a subsidiary


•	subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Parent Company


•	decreases in the Company's financial strength or debt ratings


•	inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures


•	concentration of the Company's investments in any particular single-issuer or sector


•	differing judgments applied to investment valuations


•	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

Item 1. Business

Next: Item 1. BUSINESS