Oct. 10--Columbus-based supplemental insurer Aflac saw its stock price plummet Thursday to a 52-week low of $37.26.

Aflac stock rebounded slightly in trading on the New York Stock Exchange to close at $39.70 -- a drop of $8.26, or about 17 percent, from Wednesday.

Columbus-based Synovus also saw a 17 percent drop in its stock price Thursday. Shares of Synovus closed at $8.60, down $1.88, but still more than $1 above its 52-week low in July.

It was a rough day for other insurance companies as well. Stock for Prudential Financial Inc. dropped about 23 percent. Lincoln National fell almost 35 percent. And Protective Life Corp. saw a 44 percent drop.

Ken Janke, Aflac senior vice president of investor relations, said the insurance sector overall is taking a beating.

"They're not picking on us," Janke said Thursday. "Investors are concerned over anything financial -- whether it's a brokerage firm, insurance company or bank. Like it or not... insurance companies are viewed as financials. But as bad as it is for us today, it's harder for a lot of other insurance companies."

Janke's issue is that Aflac is fundamentally different as a supplemental insurance company. As for Aflac's investment portfolio, Janke said, it's in the company's nature to take a "very conservative approach when it comes to the balance sheet."

He said he hopes the market will be able differentiate the stronger companies in the next few weeks as financial companies release their quarterly reports.

"We do not have any direct investment exposure to the subprime lending market," he said. "We have not lent money to subprime mortgagors. We have not bought securities made up of subprime mortgages. We're not in the investment real estate business and we do not have direct investment exposure in the credit default swap market."

The credit default swap market is one of the reasons one of Aflac's competitors, American International Group Inc., has seen its stock price drop over time from a 52-week high of $69.91 to $2.39 Thursday.

AIG recently received an $85 billion federal loan last month to save it from bankruptcy and was granted an additional $37.8 million from the Fed on Wednesday. The company is expected to sell assets to help repay the loan.

And Aflac may be interested in buying some of AIG's assets, Janke said. Although executives say they are in no hurry to make a move now, Janke confirmed a report from earlier this month in a Japanese business publication that Aflac is interested in "looking at" a unit of AIG in Japan. Alico Japan is one of the Aflac's biggest competitors in the Asian country.