Aflac, the leading provider of voluntary insurance at the work site in the United States and one of FORTUNE's 2014 Blue Ribbon companies, announced today that they have been listed as the 25th top brand by American City Business Journals and The Business Journals. The Georgia-based insurer with the popular Aflac Duck advertising campaign tops the list for insurers in the Financial/Insurance category. Aflac climbed 31 spots on the annual list compared with last year.

The results are highlighted in the 13th annual SMB Insights Study from The Business Journals, which surveyed more than 1,600 small- to midsized-business owners and top management decision-makers. Companies were ranked based on several criteria, including industry leadership, vision, ethical behavior, general popularity, good pricing and customer service. The survey involved more than 250 brands, most of which are based in the United States.

"As a chief marketer, I am extremely pleased to see the Aflac brand sitting near the top of a ranking like this, especially since Aflac spends a fraction of the amount spent by others in the insurance industry for marketing and advertising," Aflac Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna said. "But a brand is only as good as the promises you keep and the great people who help you keep them. Whether it's our field agents who serve our customers on the front lines or the analysts working hard to get a claim paid, we want to be the brand that customers can always rely on."

In February, Aflac introduced its latest innovation called One Day PaySM. If an eligible claim is submitted with all supporting documentation via Aflac SmartClaim®, the company's online claims-submission system, Monday-Friday by 3 p.m. ET, Aflac processes, approves and disburses payment for the claim in one business day.

"The branding study from the Business Journals provides companies with a valuable, independent snapshot of the way business decisions makers view and rank top brands.  For those that make the list, it's recognition for being among the best of the best," saidWhitney Shaw, President and CEO of American City Business Journals, parent company of The Business Journals.

According to the American City Business Journals, the annual study is done in order to provide a snapshot of how marketers can assess how a particular brand performs over time. Regardless of category, brands that are consistently highly ranked should be seen as resources for stimulating thoughts about best practices, the researchers believe, as well as for new partnership opportunities and even out-of-the-box ways to improve branding and marketing efforts for SMB customers.