American Family Life Assurance Company (Aflac), is among the most respected insurance companies in the US. It was started by three brothers: Paul, John and Bill Amos in 1955. Aflac very quickly became popular and sold over 6,400 policies and accumulated more than $380,000 in assets in its first year of doing business. Aflac has a wide variety of health and accident insurance policies to meet the needs of almost every person and employer alike. As of 2003, over 98% of all Aflac plans sold in the US were issued through payroll deduction, a great convenience to the customer making the insurance firm a frontrunner in using that type of policy distribution approach.
As Aflac's motto states they will make cash payments to their clients when they get hurt and are unable to work. To this end, they offer many types of insurance packages for business owners, employers and individuals covering:
- Accident/Disability
- Cancer/Specified Disease
- Hospital Intensive Care
- Specific Health Event
- Vision
- Dental
- Critical Care and Recovery
- Long-term Care
- Hospital Confinement/Sickness Indemnity
- Medicare Supplement
- Short-term Disability
- Life Insurance
- Child Life Insurance
Even though many company execs who monitor the positive characteristics of insurance coverage have privately acknowledged that customer service can be somewhat spotty, which seems to fall in line with the insurance coverage in the marketplace, many clients have related very positive experiences with customer service reps and sales consultants.
Some positive points that should be considered when looking at Aflac insurance plans are:
- Portability
- They pay you directly
- A wide variety of plan packages
- Coverage for some preventive care
- Simple to complete claim forms
Also available from the company are packages covering dependent day-care, un-reimbursed medical expenses, and portable flexible spending accounts. The company also provides human resources services for COBRA and HIPAA management.
The company's network marketing sales structure has made it among the most prosperous in the country. Even though sales consultants earn lower commissions on average than other insurance companies they have created a very profitable business model.
It's simple to get coverage from Aflac. You simply need to request a quote from them and then meet with a policy consultant to discuss your particular needs. In general, Aflac has proven to be a trusted and reliable supplemental insurance company that offers a wide variety of insurance products at reasonable rates.