Aetna Inc. missed an earnings goal last year, so the health insurer chopped the performance-based bonus it awarded Chairman and CEO Mark T. Bertolini. But the executive’s total compensation still rose 26 percent in 2012.
Bertolini, 56, received compensation valued at $13.2 million last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of the Hartford, Conn., company’s annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s up from about $10.6 million in 2011.
In 2012, Bertolini received a $977,159 salary, which fell slightly compared to 2011, and a bonus of $892,800, which was down 55 percent. But the insurer also gave Bertolini stock awards totaling $11.1 million, a 52 percent hike compared to the previous year. It granted those awards Feb. 2, 2012.
Aetna, the nation’s third-largest health insurer, also spent $201,093 on Bertolini’s personal use of corporate aircraft and around $16,000 to upgrade the executive’s home security system. The company said it did this “in light of concerns regarding the safety of Mr. Bertolini and his family as a result of the national health care debate.”
Company spokeswoman Cynthia Michener said Bertolini and his family have not received any threats.
Last year, Bertolini guided the insurer through a major acquisition. Aetna announced in August that it planned to buy Medicare and Medicaid coverage provider Coventry Health Care for $5.7 billion.
The company also pleased shareholders by raising its quarterly dividend payout to 20 cents per share from 17.5 cents at the end of November.
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