Aflac shareholders approve CEO pay

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - Shareholders of health and disability insurer Aflac approved almost $15 million in compensation for Chairman and Chief Executive Dan Amos on Monday in the first stockholder vote on executive pay by a major U.S. company.

Aflac Inc., which sells insurance in the U.S. and Japan, said about 93 percent of the votes approved the 2007 compensation package of the company's top five executives. About 2.5 percent were against it.

The "say on pay" announcement came before a crowd of about 200 attending the annual shareholder meeting at the Columbus Museum.

Aflac, whose quacking duck television commercials have made it practically a household name, was founded in 1955 by Amos' father, Paul Amos, and Paul's brothers John and Bill. Dan Amos became CEO in 1990.

The Aflac board voted in February 2007 to give shareholders an advisory "say-on-pay" vote.

The insurer is one of several companies, including Verizon Communications Inc. and Blockbuster Inc., that have been pressured to give shareholders a say in determining executive compensation.

"We were the first to agree to the vote and the first to actually hold it," Aflac spokeswoman Laura Kane said.

She said shareholders approved a pay package of $14.83 million for Dan Amos for 2007, a year when the company's shares climbed to all-time highs. The Associated Press reported two months ago that Amos received nearly $12 million in compensation last year, but its calculation excluded retirement benefits the company counted.

Addressing the shareholders at the meeting, Amos said: "With only two-and-a-half percent voting no, I am pleased that we are in the confidence and trust of the overwhelming majority of our shareholders.

"I want to assure you that our goal at Aflac has always been to be responsive to shareholders and to bring you value, and I thank you for your support," he said.