Victor B. Reed, FLMI, senior vice president, Empire Financial Group, Kingston, ONT, is the 1993 recipient of LOMA’s highest educational honor, the FLMI (Fellow, Life Management Institute) Insurance Education Award.

First granted in 1979, the award has been given to individuals in recognition of their contributions to insurance education in general, and the FLMI Program in particular. An officer of the Empire Financial Group, who joined the company in 1950, Reed will be the ninth FLMI Insurance Education Award recipient.

The award, to be given in a September 21 ceremony at LOMA’s Annual Conference in Toronto, recognizes Reed’s success in securing funds for the expansion of the French language FLMI Insurance Education Program. In addition, Reed generously gave his time to the Education Council, serving as the Life Insurance Institute of Canada (LIIC) representative in 1986-87. For many years, French-speaking employees of Canadian companies were at a very serous disadvantage in the area of industry education, according to Reed. "In order that the FLMI Program would provide the same benefits and opportunities to this significant portion of our industry, texts, study materials and exams for the whole FLMI program needed to be available in French," he said. "LOMA agreed, but couldn’t burden U.S. student and companies with the cost of doing this. We needed a Canadian solution."

Translation of FLMI Level II Courses (Courses 3-10) had begun in the mid-1970s, but stalled after the translation of FLMI Course 3. "The expansion of the French-language FLMI program was delayed because funds were not available to cover the costs," said William H. Rabel, Ph.D., FLMI, CLU, LOMA senior vice president, Education. "In his leadership position as chairman of the LIIC board of directors, Vic Reed took the initiative in contacting Canadian CEOs to obtain promises that the financing could be put on a sound basis."

As chairman of the LIIC board in 1987, Reed led the LIIC’s efforts to survey CEOs of Canadian companies and to poll the entire industry in search of the most equitable and agreeable solution to this dilemma. "It was understood by the LIIC and LOMA that we needed the approval of a large majority of the Canadian companies and the full cooperation of the francophone companies before putting a solution into operation. We met with the CLHIA [The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association] board – a cross section of the most senior executives of the life industry in Canada – and got their approval in principle. We polled all of the industry, asking for agreement to the proposal by the CEOs and principal reps, who were very much in favor. Then we got assurance of total support from the Quebec-based companies."

The proposal, which was ultimately approved, was to add a surcharge onto all FLMI exams administered in Canada. "Instead of talking about a cost of several hundreds of thousands of dollars, our solution was identified as $10 to $20 per exam written — much more palatable," Reed said.

Thanks to Reed’s efforts, FLMI Courses 1, 2, 3 (Canadian), 4, 5, 8 and 10-HR (Resources humaines) are now offered in French as well as in English. Translation of the remaining courses is expected to be completed by 1997. Step One: LOMA’s Introduction to Life and Health Insurance is also now available in French, and Associate, Customer Service Course CS1, Foundations of Customer Service, will be offered in French in 1994.

Nothing that he was surprised and honored to receive the 1993 FLMI Insurance Education Award, Reed modestly said, "I was the leader of the LIIC at the time. Leaders are usually only as successful as the group behind them. The LIIC, collectively, was committed to resolving this issue. We were fortunate to have the right people to carry it through successfully.

Reed completed the FLMI designation in 1958. Today, he recognizes the importance of industry education more than ever. "Education and knowledge are the keys to success for individuals and the industry. This has always been the case, but it is even more applicable today," he said. "Our industry is – and will continue to be – under very heavy pressure to measure up against new and broader competition. Intelligent, well-educated, well-trained and broadly trained staff are absolutely essential for our success. LOMA is a very important part of this process."

Click here for a list of other FLMI Insurance Education Award recipients.