Aflac Has No Need to Quack: Best in Class

COLUMBUS, Ga. (TheStreet) -- Aflac(AFL Quote) rose out of obscurity because of a quacking duck.

In the insurer's television ads, someone is always in trouble, and the duck provides the same one-word answer: "Aflac!" Chief Executive Officer Dan Amos, despite his initial hesitation, has embraced the duck as much as the company's philosophy: Tap into people's needs, and the profits will come.

Amos is a son of one of the founders of the Columbus, Georgia-based company. Calling it a family firm would be stretching it a bit, but it's not far off. Aflac counts 4,200 employees, books premium income of $15 billion and boasts a market value of $19 billion, giving it a ranking of No. 7 in the industry. It has 40 million customers worldwide. Hartford Financial Services(HIG Quote) has a staff of 31,000 but a market value of only $10 billion after risky bets almost deep-sixed the 199-year-old insurer.

Before the duck came on the scene, Aflac flew under the radar. No scandals, no boardroom coups, no huge losses -- even in the worst of last year's financial troubles.

Net income, as expected, dropped last year, to $1.3 billion from $1.6 billion. First-half earnings totaled $882 million and analysts forecast 2009 profit of more than $2 billion, according to SNL Financial. In comparison, Prudential(PRU Quote), a similarly sized insurer, posted a $1 billion loss for 2008.

Aflac embodies the antithesis of the greed that nearly sank the U.S. financial system. The insurer decided last year that shareholders should have a say on executive pay. Amos has given up bonuses in bad years and forgone a so-called golden-parachute provision in his contract. Last year, former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain spent a million dollars redecorating his office as his ship was about to go under. As a result, he was heaved overboard.