Aflac Inc., which sells insurance in the U.S. and Japan, reported Monday that Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel P. Amos received total compensation valued at about $10.8 million in 2008, down 10 percent from the nearly $12 million he was paid in 2007, when the company's stock climbed to all-time highs.

Amos received a salary of $1.3 million and other compensation totaling $189,202, which mainly included perks such as $169,608 worth of security services and $10,372 for personal use of the company aircraft, according to a regulatory filing late Monday.

Amid the deteriorating economic climate and the company's tumbling stock price, Amos chose not to receive $2.8 million in non-equity incentive pay that he earned based on achieving certain performance measures.

Amos also received stock-based compensation with an accounting value of about $9.26 million, but $2.4 million of that was in options with an exercise price of $61.81 and nearly $4.5 million consisted of options with an exercise price of $55.72 — well above the $16.01 that Aflac shares closed on Monday.

Aflac shares opened 2008 at $62.47, but by the end of the year had lost 27 percent of their value. In the last two months the stock has plummeted another 65 percent. Insurers across the industry have been battered in recent weeks as ratings agencies such as Standard & Poor's have said the troubled economy is putting pressure on their assets. Keeping high ratings is key for insurers because lower ratings can mean higher costs, and in some cases, even a loss of business.

Columbus, Ga.-based Aflac reported 2008 net income of $1.25 billion, or $2.62 per share, as major investment losses pushed results down 23 percent from the $1.63 billion, or $3.35 per share, the company earned in 2007.

In November 2008, amid the market meltdown, Amos also decided to voluntarily forgo the "golden parachute" clause in his employment contract and change his agreement. Under the terms of his original contract, Amos would have been entitled to receive three years of salary and bonus in the event of a change in control or certain other termination events, which would have totaled about $13 million in cash.

Amos did exercise options on about 34,000 shares valued at $859,660, and also had $3.94 million in restricted stock vest.

President and Chief Financial Officer Kriss Cloninger III received a salary of $857,700 in 2008, slightly higher than the $826,300 he received in 2007. But he too voluntarily reduced his non-equity incentive pay for 2008, cutting it by 35 percent or approximately $477,000 to $913,119.

The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.

(This version CORRECTS executive's last name in long headline.)