Aflac announcing expansion

Sept. 11--Insurer Aflac Group will formally announce expansion plans in Columbia on Monday at an event attended by Gov. Mark Sanford and Mayor Steve Benjamin.

Aflac, which bought Columbia-based Continental American Insurance in a $100 million deal in October, will move into a floor of the AT&T building at Huger and Laurel streets.

While Aflac will keep Continental's two Devine Street offices, the additional space will accommodate growth, local executive Chris Goodall said last month when the lease was first revealed.

Continental employed more than 160 when it was bought, but already has grown to 200 workers in Columbia, an Aflac spokesman said Friday.

Continental has kept its name though it operates under the Aflac banner. Signs on the Devine Street offices have been changed to Aflac and the AT&T building will get an Alfac sign and its iconic duck.

The Continental purchase marked the first time in its 54-year history that Columbus, Ga.-based Aflac has acquired another insurance company.

Goodall continues to run the company his father founded in 1980 since the sale sold to Aflac.

A call to Goodall on Friday was referred to Aflac officials, who declined to discuss further details of the announcement next week.

Aflac is the largest competitor to Colonial Life, one of Columbia's largest private employers.

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