Shares of Aflac Inc. tumbled 7.1% in active afternoon trade Friday, enough to pace the S&P 500’s losers, although the insurer said a report that former employees alleged fraud and abuse was “false” and “without merit.” Volume spiked to 10.5 million shares, or more than 6-times the full-day average. The stock, which closed at a record $91.69 on Thursday, pared earlier intraday losses of as much as 8.7%. “Recent media stories regarding Aflac contain false allegations made by a very small group of independent contractors. Aflac intends to aggressively fight these allegations beginning with filing for their dismissal,” the company said in a statement. A report by The Intercept late Thursday said Aflac exploited workers, manipulated accounting and deceived shareholders and customers, citing multiple current and former employees, as well as three previously unreported lawsuits. In Aflac’s response, the company said it has “investigated these claims and found them to be without merit.” The stock has run up 22.6% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has gained 12.7% and the S&P 500 had climbed 22.7%.
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