The Life Management Institute’s Insurance Education Award honors an individual’s outstanding contributions to insurance education. Dean B. Carlson’s 20 years of service to LOMA and the FLMI Program earned him this high recognition at the 1986 Annual Conference.

Eight years ago, Dean B. Carlson, FLMI, then chairman of the Life Management Institutes’s Education Council, presented the Life Management Institute’s Insurance Education Award to Janice E. Greider, then counsel for State Farm Mutual Insurance Company. Carlson recalled that moment in a speech he gave during LOMA’s 1986 Annual Conference: "Janice Greider was a courageous lady who refused to allow a disability to keep her for achieving her goals. In her rewrite of the FLMI Program’s legal text, I worked with her, furnishing some suggestions and comments. It was my special privilege to present the award to her in a ceremony held at the company in Bloomington."

Carlson’s speech took place immediately after he received an Insurance Education Award of his own, presented to him by Kenneth C. Otis, immediate past chairman of the LMI’s Council. The fifth recipient of this plaque, awarded each year to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to insurance education, Carlson served the Life Management Institute for almost 20 years as chairman of every LMI committee that existed before his retirement as vice president and corporate secretary from IDS Life Insurance Company. As chairman of the LMI Council, he also sat on LOMA’s Board of Directors.

Carlson’s lengthy association with the Institute began shortly after he earned his FLMI in 1962 when he was asked to become a member of the Examinations Committee. "I soon learned that the professional staff at LOMA was not necessarily going to buy every suggestion I offered?" Carlson told those assembled at the Annual conference. "Nevertheless, as the years went by and the FLMI program continued to grow in numbers and improve quality, it was apparent that the combination of staff and on-the-line insurance people was a highly effective one that would guarantee success. The outstanding record compiled by the Life Management Institute speaks for itself."

Many Suggestions
LOMA’s professional staff, however, apparently found many of Carlson’s suggestions excellent. It was Carlson who recognized the need for and was the architect of the Institute’s Administrative and FLMI Society committees. He was also a major contributor to the first edition of the FLMI Course 2 (Life and Health Insurance Company Operations) textbook. In addition to providing much of the strategic design for the book he served as an author and reviewer for this pioneering work.

The role of pioneer is not unknown to Carlson, who holds the distinction of being the very first employee of IDS’ life insurance company. An early advocator of the importance of the FLMI Society and the need for, in his words, "an aggressive posture with regard to the formation of FLMI societies, "Carlson was one of the founders of the FLMI Society of the Twin Cities. True to his assertion that strong FLMI societies enhance the designation, Carlson developed and, while he chaired the FLMI Society Committee, moderated the FLMI Society Officers’ Workshop, an annual two-day training and information exchange session that continues to draw large numbers of officers each year.

Carlson remembered other developments and changes that challenged council and committee members of his day and shaped the ever-evolving FLMI Program into its present form. Two of those changes, in particular, have greatly affected today’s FLMI students:

• The addition of a second examination cycle to the FLMI academic year, and
• The use of optical scanning equipment, which ushered in the era of multiple choice questions and "bubble" answer sheets.

The conferment of "Master Fellow" on the first class of FLMI/Ms was almost as triumphant for Carlson, who was involved with the program in its idea phase, as it was for the actual graduates.

According to Carlson, the long hours of policy-making and brainstorming that constitute membership on the council or any of its committees are worthwhile and full of rewards. Carlson told the Annual Conference audience of one meeting he never forgot: "When Karl Kreder (the third recipient of the LMI Insurance Education Award) of Metropolitan Life chaired the council, he worked us hard all day and in the evening treated us to the culinary delights of Manhattan restaurants. Of course when I say treated, I mean Dutch-treated!"

Overall, Carlson concluded "The total experience—with the committees, council, and LOMA’s Board of Directors—left me rich indeed in terms of the relationship I formed with the LOMA staff and industry representatives. I still have contact with many of them."

Carlson graciously thanked many people for their roles in the award, including A.E. Archibald, CEO of IDS, "Ted Archibald insisted on the establishment of a strong education program at IDS and without his encouragement and backing, my participation would not have been possible. I was pleased to learn that they have been designated a Model Company and further that they now have 77 FLMIs."

He also acknowledged the support of his wife, Amy: "It was she who kept the home fires burning while I was studying for exams, working on projects, and, then, flying off to al the meetings."

Carlson’s marks on the FLMI Insurance Education Program can be seen everywhere, from the burgeoning FLMI society movement to the calculators his Administrative Committee recently approved for use by students in FLMI examinations. He called previous honorees of this award "a very unique and select group." Carlson’s dedication to LOMA and the industry more than qualify him for membership in this elite club. Dr. William Rabel, FLMI, CLU, senior vice president of the Life Management Institute, concisely stated the value of Carlson’s numerous contributions: "He has created an important legacy for all life and health company professionals."

Click here for a complete list of LOMA's Education Award winners.