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Aflac U.S. Sales
The following table presents Aflac's U.S. new annualized premium sales for the years ended December 31.
(In millions)
2016
2015
2014
New annualized premium sales
$1,482
$ 1,487
$ 1,433
Increase (decrease) over prior period
(.3)%
3.7%
.7%
The following table details the contributions to new annualized premium sales by major insurance product category for
the years ended December 31.
2016
2015
2014
Income-loss protection:
Short-term disability
23.5%
23.2%
22.4%
Life
5.1
5.2
5.8
Asset-loss protection:
Accident
29.5
29.9
28.1
Critical care
(1)
22.1
21.9
21.4
Supplemental medical:
Hospital indemnity
14.8
14.6
16.4
Dental/vision
5.0
5.2
5.9
Total
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
(1)
Includes cancer, critical illness and hospital intensive care products
New annualized premium sales for accident insurance, our leading product category, decreased 1.5%, short-term
disability sales increased .9%, critical care insurance sales (including cancer insurance) increased .4%, and hospital
indemnity insurance sales increased .7% in 2016, compared with 2015.
The addition of group products has expanded our reach and enabled us to generate more sales opportunities with
larger employers, brokers, and our traditional sales agents. We anticipate that the appeal of our group products will
continue to enhance our opportunities to connect with larger businesses and their employees. Our portfolio of group and
individual products offers businesses the opportunity to give their employees a more valuable and comprehensive
selection of benefit options.
In 2016, our traditional U.S. sales forces included more than 9,000 U.S. associates who were actively producing
business on a weekly basis. We believe that the average weekly producer equivalent metric allows our sales
management to monitor progress and needs. In 2016, sales through employers with less than 100 workers were relatively
flat. In 2017, we will continue to focus our career sales agents on selling to this segment.
Beyond expanding the size and capabilities of our traditional sales force, we remain encouraged about establishing
and developing relationships with insurance brokers that typically handle the larger-case market. Broker sales to groups
with 1,000 or more employees experienced double-digit percentage growth in 2016.
We believe that changes we have made to our career and broker management infrastructure since 2014 have
provided a platform for expanded long-term growth opportunities. During 2014, Aflac U.S. implemented tactical initiatives
centered around providing competitive compensation to our career agent sales hierarchy and positioning us to more
effectively and consistently execute on the U.S. sales strategy across all states. These measures were designed to more
effectively link sales management's success to Aflac's success. For example, we enhanced compensation through an
incentive bonus for the first level of our sales management, district sales coordinators, who are primarily responsible for
selling Aflac products and training new sales associates. Additionally, we eliminated the commission-based position of
state sales coordinator. To better manage our state operations, we introduced the new position of market director, effective
October 1, 2014. Market directors are salaried with the opportunity to earn sales-related bonuses. We believe these
changes have enhanced and will continue to enhance performance management and better align compensation with new
business results.
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