COLUMBUS, Ga., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the
leading provider of voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in
the U.S., today presented its innovative social robot, My Special
Aflac Duck™, at the Children and Cancer Forum in Washington, D.C. The forum, hosted by Atlantic
Media and underwritten by Aflac for the second consecutive year,
brought together a diverse audience of experts, survivors,
researchers and families impacted by childhood cancer, including
Dr. Kavita Dhodapkar, a pediatric
hematologist-oncologist at the Aflac
Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare
of Atlanta, who spoke about the
latest developments in immunotherapy.
The event included panels from practitioners, survivors and
government officials. During a special session produced
by Aflac, Aflac Senior Vice President, Chief Brand and
Communications Officer Catherine
Hernandez-Blades and Sproutel Chief Executive Officer
Aaron Horowitz provided a 10-minute
presentation on My Special Aflac Duck. The sophisticated comforting
robot, which is the result of nearly two years of research
conducted by Sproutel, was introduced at the Consumer Electronics
Show in January in Las Vegas and
received top honors for Best in Show. The segment, which was
streamed live on Facebook Live, can be seen here.
"Aflac is excited about the My Special Aflac Duck program and
what we believe it will accomplish in helping children cope with
the treatments they endure during their cancer journey,"
Hernandez-Blades said. "We would like to thank The Atlantic for the
opportunity to underwrite today's Children and Cancer forum as
Aflac continues to facilitate a national conversation about
pediatric cancer."
According to the National Cancer Society, as many as 16,000
children are diagnosed with cancer in America every year. Aflac
hopes to initiate delivery of My Special Aflac Duck at select
hospitals beginning in September, before expanding nationwide in
winter 2018-2019. For more information, go to
aflacchildhoodcancer.org.
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt,
Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac
insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to
focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in
voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing
One Day PaySM initiative, for eligible claims, Aflac
U.S. can process, approve and electronically send funds to
claimants for quick access to cash in just one business day. In
Japan, Aflac is the leading
provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4
households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to
more than 50 million people worldwide. For 12 consecutive years,
Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most
Ethical Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as
one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20th
consecutive year and included Aflac on its list of World's Most
Admired Companies for the 17th time. Aflac Incorporated is a
Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day
PaySM, visit aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of
Columbus and American Family Life
Assurance Company of New York.
Media contact – Jon
Sullivan, 706.763.4813 or jsullivan@aflac.com
Analyst and investor contact – David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667,
FAX 706.324.6330, or dyoung@aflac.com
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SOURCE Aflac