SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

Description of Business 

Aflac Incorporated (the Parent Company) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) primarily sell supplemental health and life insurance in the United States and Japan. The Company's insurance business is marketed and administered through American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac), which operates in the United States (Aflac U.S.) and as a branch in Japan (Aflac Japan). Most of Aflac's policies are individually underwritten and marketed through independent agents. Additionally, Aflac U.S. markets and administers group products through Continental American Insurance Company (CAIC), branded as Aflac Group Insurance. Our insurance operations in the United States and our branch in Japan service the two markets for our insurance business. Aflac Japan's revenues, including realized gains and losses on its investment portfolio, accounted for 75% and 77% of the Company's total revenues in the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013, and 2012, respectively. The percentage of the Company's total assets attributable to Aflac Japan was 86% at March 31, 2013, and 87% at December 31, 2012.

Basis of Presentation

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These principles are established primarily by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). In these Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, references to GAAP issued by the FASB are derived from the FASB Accounting Standards Codification^TM (ASC). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates when recording transactions resulting from business operations based on currently available information. The most significant items on our balance sheet that involve a greater degree of accounting estimates and actuarial determinations subject to changes in the future are the valuation of investments, deferred policy acquisition costs, liabilities for future policy benefits and unpaid policy claims, and income taxes. These accounting estimates and actuarial determinations are sensitive to market conditions, investment yields, mortality, morbidity, commission and other acquisition expenses, and terminations by policyholders. As additional information becomes available, or actual amounts are determinable, the recorded estimates will be revised and reflected in operating results. Although some variability is inherent in these estimates, we believe the amounts provided are adequate.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Parent Company, its subsidiaries and those entities required to be consolidated under applicable accounting standards. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company contain all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, which are necessary to fairly present the consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2013, and December 31, 2012, and the consolidated statements of earnings and comprehensive income (loss), shareholders' equity and cash flows for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013, and 2012. Results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year. As a result, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in our annual report to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes: Income tax provisions are generally based on pretax earnings reported for financial statement purposes, which differ from those amounts used in preparing our income tax returns. Deferred income taxes are recognized for temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and income tax basis of assets and liabilities, based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which we expect the temporary differences to reverse. We record deferred tax assets for tax positions taken based on our assessment of whether the tax position is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. A valuation allowance is established for deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that an amount will not be realized.

As discussed in the Translation of Foreign Currencies section in Note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our annual report to shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2012, Aflac Japan maintains a dollar-denominated investment portfolio on behalf of Aflac U.S. While there are no translation effects to record in other comprehensive income (loss), the deferred tax expense or benefit associated with foreign exchange gains or losses on the portfolio is recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) until the securities mature or are sold. Total income tax expense (benefit) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss) included tax expense of $424 million during the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, and tax expense of $157 million during the three-month period ended March 31, 2012, for this dollar-denominated portfolio. Excluding these amounts from total taxes on other comprehensive income (loss) would result in an effective income tax rate on pretax other comprehensive income (loss) of 43.0% and 44.5% in the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Reclassification Policy

Reclassifications: Certain reclassifications have been made to prior-year amounts to conform to current-year reporting classifications. These reclassifications had no impact on net earnings or total shareholders' equity.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

New Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Reporting of amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income: In February 2013, the FASB issued guidance that requires reclassification adjustments for items that are reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income to net income to be presented in statements where the components of net income and the components of other comprehensive income are presented or in the footnotes to the financial statements. Additionally, the amendment requires cross-referencing to other disclosures currently required for other reclassification items. We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2013. The adoption of this guidance impacted our financial statement disclosures, but it did not have an impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Disclosures about offsetting assets and liabilities: In November 2011, the FASB issued guidance to amend the disclosure requirements about offsetting assets and liabilities. The new guidance essentially clarifies the FASB's intent concerning the application of existing offsetting disclosure requirements. Entities are required to disclose gross and net information about both instruments and transactions eligible for offset in the statement of financial position and instruments and transactions when those activities are subject to an agreement similar to a master netting arrangement. The scope of this guidance was clarified and revised in January 2013 to apply to derivatives, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and securities lending arrangements. The objective of this disclosure is to move toward consistency between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2013. The adoption of this guidance impacted our financial statement disclosures, but it did not have an impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Presentation of comprehensive income: In June 2011, the FASB issued guidance to amend the presentation of comprehensive income.The amendment requires that all non-owner changes in shareholders' equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2012 and elected the option to report comprehensive income in two separate but consecutive statements. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Fair value measurements and disclosures: In May 2011, the FASB issued guidance to amend the fair value measurement and disclosure requirements. Most of the amendments are clarifications of the FASB's intent about the application of existing fair value measurement and disclosure requirements. Other amendments change a particular principle or requirement for measuring fair value or disclosing information about fair value measurements. The new fair value measurement disclosures include additional quantitative and qualitative disclosures for Level 3 measurements, including a qualitative sensitivity analysis of fair value to changes in unobservable inputs, and categorization by fair value hierarchy level for items for which the fair value is only disclosed. We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2012. The adoption of this guidance impacted our financial statement disclosures, but it did not affect our financial position or results of operations.

Accounting for costs associated with acquiring or renewing insurance contracts: In October 2010, the FASB issued amended accounting guidance on accounting for costs associated with acquiring or renewing insurance contracts. Under the previous guidance, costs that varied with and were primarily related to the acquisition of a policy were deferrable. Under the amended guidance, only incremental direct costs associated with the successful acquisition of a new or renewal contract may be capitalized, and direct-response advertising costs may be capitalized only if they meet certain criteria. This guidance is effective on a prospective or retrospective basis for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We retrospectively adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2012. The retrospective adoption of this accounting standard resulted in an after-tax cumulative reduction to retained earnings of $391 million and an after-tax cumulative reduction to unrealized foreign currency translation gains in accumulated other comprehensive income of $67 million, resulting in a total reduction to shareholders' equity of $458 million as of December 31, 2009 (the opening balance sheet date in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012). The adoption of this accounting standard had an immaterial impact on net income in 2011 and for all preceding years