Aflac and Trupanion Announce Joint Venture - Aflac Pet Insurance in Japan
Aflac and Trupanion have announced a joint venture to launch Aflac Pet Insurance in Japan, set to begin in the latter half of 2023, pending regulatory approvals. This collaboration aims to combine Aflac's brand and distribution expertise with Trupanion's pet insurance leadership, offering high-value medical insurance for pets. Aflac Japan's president emphasized the initiative's goal to enhance service offerings for pet owners, while Trupanion highlighted its commitment to aligning with the veterinary community in Japan's extensive hospital network.
- Joint venture with Trupanion may increase market share in Japan's pet insurance sector.
- Leverages Aflac's strong brand and distribution network.
- Expected to offer high-value insurance products, addressing pet owner needs.
- The success of the venture depends on obtaining necessary regulatory approvals.
- Potential challenges in integrating services with the veterinary community.
COLUMBUS, Ga. and SEATTLE, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), a Fortune 500 company that helps protect more than 50 million people in Japan and the United States, and Trupanion, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRUP), a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs, are announcing a joint venture between Aflac Life Insurance Japan and Trupanion to provide high-value pet insurance in Japan. The joint venture, Aflac Pet Insurance, will leverage Aflac's strong brand, insurance expertise, and broad distribution network in Japan with Trupanion's expertise and leadership in pet insurance.
Beginning in the second half of 2023, pending necessary regulatory approvals, Aflac Pet Insurance will offer high-value pet medical insurance designed to help pet owners budget for unexpected care for their pets.
"We are pleased to expand our partnership with Trupanion, the industry leader in U.S. pet insurance, to increase our value proposition in the Japanese market," said Frederick J. Crawford, president and Chief Operating Officer of Aflac Incorporated. "This joint venture will combine Aflac's brand recognition, broad distribution network and industry leadership in Japan with Trupanion's brand, strong reputation and expertise within the pet insurance industry."
"Aflac Pet Insurance will advance Aflac Japan's efforts to create shared value as the leading company focused on enabling 'Living in your own way' through solutions that meet their needs," said Masatoshi Koide, president of Aflac Japan. "We believe this offering will provide individuals and families with protection that is both of higher value than any pet insurance currently available in the market and a great complement to our core third sector product portfolio."
"We are excited to enter Japan through our alliance with Aflac, which remains a supportive shareholder and partner," said Margi Tooth, President of Trupanion. "We see an opportunity within the Japanese market for a pet insurance product that is aligned with the veterinary community. We look forward to partnering with Aflac to build trust among veterinarians and their staff at Japan's more than 10,000 veterinary hospitals. Together, we will ensure Aflac insured pets are able to receive the best veterinary care, regardless of treatment cost."
ABOUT AFLAC INCORPORATED
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the U.S., Aflac is the number one provider of supplemental health insurance products1. Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan, where it insures 1 in 4 households. In 2021, Aflac Incorporated was proud to be included as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for the 16th consecutive year. Also in 2021, the company was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). In 2022, Aflac Incorporated was included on Fortune's list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 21st time and Bloomberg's Gender-Equality Index for the third consecutive year. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com or aflac.com/español. Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to ESG and social responsibility at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability."
1 LIMRA 2021 U.S. Supplemental Health Insurance Total Market Report |
ABOUT TRUPANION
Trupanion is a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Puerto Rico and Australia with over 800,000 pets enrolled. For over two decades, Trupanion has given pet owners peace of mind so they can focus on their pet's recovery, not financial stress. Trupanion is committed to providing pet owners with the highest value in pet medical insurance with unlimited payouts for the life of their pets. With its patented process, Trupanion is the only provider with the technology to pay veterinarians directly in seconds at the time of checkout. Trupanion is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol "TRUP." The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. Trupanion policies are issued, in the United States, by its wholly-owned insurance entity American Pet Insurance Company and, in Canada, by Omega General Insurance Company. Trupanion Australia is a partnership between Trupanion and Hollard Insurance Company. For more information, please visit trupanion.com.
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 and Trupanion desire 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 implementation of the alliance, the exploration of opportunities in Japan, the acquisition of Trupanion equity by Aflac, and 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 and Trupanion undertake no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
The companies caution readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned by either company in its respective SEC filings from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements:
- difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy, including those caused by COVID-19
- defaults and credit downgrades of investments
- exposure to significant interest rate risk
- concentration of business in Japan
- limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments
- foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate
- differing judgments applied to investment valuations
- significant valuation judgments in determination of expected credit losses recorded on the Company's investments
- decreases in the Company's financial strength or debt ratings
- decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions
- concentration of the Company's investments in any particular single-issuer or sector
- the effects of COVID-19 and its variants (both known and emerging), and any resulting economic effects and government interventions, on the Company's business and financial results
- ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners
- deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions
- ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems
- 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
- subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Parent Company
- inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures
- the operational risks of third party vendors
- tax rates applicable to the Company may change
- failure to comply with restrictions on policyholder privacy and information security
- extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities
- competitive environment and ability to anticipate and respond to market trends
- catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, as a result of climate change, epidemics, pandemics (such as the coronavirus COVID-19), tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, war or other military action, terrorism or other acts of violence, and damage incidental to such events
- ability to protect the Aflac brand and the Company's reputation
- 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
Aflac Incorporated
Analyst and investor contact - David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667 or dyoung@aflac.com
Media contact - Ines Gutzmer, 762.207.7601 or igutzmer@aflac.com
Trupanion
Laura Bainbridge, Head of Corporate Communications, 206.607.1929 or laura.bainbridge@trupanion.com
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SOURCE Aflac Incorporated
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