Aflac Announces $20 Million Minority Equity Investment In Singapore Life

by · December 31, 2018

Aflac Incorporated announced today that it has made a $20 million minority equity investment in Singapore Life Pte. Ltd., a digitally-focused life insurance company based in Singapore.

At the same time, the company announced that its operating subsidiary American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus plans to enter into a reinsurance agreement on certain protection products with Singapore Life.

Commenting on the announcement, Aflac Incorporated Treasurer and Head of Corporate Development Max K. Brodén said: “We are excited about this opportunity to invest in a new, digitally-focused insurance company. Singapore Life is an excellent example of how technology can be leveraged to provide better financial solutions to its clients through both direct, via singlife.com, and traditional channels. We are excited to be part of their growth story, and we look forward to a successful relationship.”

Also commenting on the announcement, Aflac Incorporated Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Frederick J. Crawford said: “As a leader in voluntary health and life insurance in both the U.S. and Japan, we believe we can provide valuable insight to Singapore Life while at the same time working closely with Singapore Life’s strong management team to better understand other Southeast Asian markets for potential growth opportunities.”

This strategic investment and relationship with Singapore Life serves as a good example of Aflac strategy to leverage digital technology to enter new markets or lines of business in a measured approach with limited capital at risk.”

CEO of Singapore Life Walter de Oude added, “We are excited to have Aflac as both an investor in Singapore Life and a partner, given the strength of Aflac’s brand, the credibility that it brings, and their leadership in the areas of cancer insurance and other supplemental medical policies. We look forward to working with Aflac as we continue to grow Singapore Life’s range of financial services that our customers are seeking.”

ABOUT AFLAC
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day Pay^SM initiative, for eligible claims, Aflac U.S. can process, approve and electronically send funds to claimants for quick access to cash in just one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 12 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of World’s Most Admired Companies for the 17th time. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day Pay^SM, visit aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol.

ABOUT SINGAPORE LIFE
Singapore Life is the first local independent life insurance company fully licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore since 1970. As a testament to the strength of Singapore Life’s strong capital base, governance and capability, Singapore Life successfully acquired Zurich Life Singapore’s business portfolio and achieved more than SGD6.6 billion in life insurance coverage to date. Singapore Life delivers on digital-first journeys by offering life insurance and savings products made exceedingly efficient through the use of cutting-edge technology. As Singapore’s fastest growing life insurer, Singapore Life empowers consumers through simplified purchase experiences by harnessing convenience, transparency and accessibility. Singapore Life continues to build its digital footprint with a view to ensuring all customers are able to leave behind a financially sound legacy for their loved ones. In short, Singapore Life makes life easy!

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. The company desires 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 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 undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.

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: capital market conditions and the availability of alternative uses for the company’s capital; difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy; exposure to significant interest rate risk; concentration of business in Japan; foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate; operation of the former Japan branch as a legal subsidiary; limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments; deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions; ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems; governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets; 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; ongoing changes in the Company’s industry; failure to comply with restrictions on patient privacy and information security; extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities; changes in tax rates applicable to the company; defaults and credit downgrades of investments; ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners; decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions; subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends to Aflac Incorporated; 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; significant valuation judgments in determination of amount of impairments taken on the Company’s investments; 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; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese accounting standards; loss of consumer trust resulting from events external to the Company’s operations; increased expenses and reduced profitability resulting from changes in assumptions for pension and other postretirement benefit plans; level and outcome of litigation; and failure of internal controls or corporate governance policies and procedures.

The estimated impact of tax reform, which is included in GAAP net income and equity, but excluded from adjusted earnings as defined, is a preliminary estimate and may be adjusted, possibly materially, due to, among other things, further refinement of the company’s calculations, changes in interpretations and assumptions the company has made, tax guidance that may be issued and actions the company may take as a result of tax reform.

Aflac Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Aflac)