From Humble Beginnings
Funeral Directors Life Insurance Company (FDLIC) began as the vision of four independent funeral directors who owned their own funeral businesses. They were especially concerned about the fair and proper representation of prepaid funerals in their communities, as well as the long-term effects that prepaid funerals would have on the value of their businesses. In 1977, they began thinking and talking about how their needs and the needs of their communities could be safely met by a secure and stable preneed insurance company whose sole focus was on serving the funeral industry. However, at that time, they could not find any company that could meet their needs. So, in 1981, they decided to do something about it.
Bill Seale, Ernest Welch, Melvin Storm, and Tom Branon, the founders of FDLIC, purchased a small Texas-based local mutual aid insurance company called Wilkerson Burial Association in Brady, Texas in 1981. They then converted the mutual aid company into a legal reserve life insurance company, which was the first ever conversion of its kind in Texas. Our founders' initiative and innovative, solution-finding attitude effectively set the tone for the future of FDLIC.
In 1986, the Company moved from its original headquarters in Brady to Abilene, Texas, which was a large, centrally located metropolitan area where the ownership group could easily come together for board meetings. The Company began as a humble operation that provided safe and secure preneed products for the small communities our founders served. However, the stage was set for FDLIC to grow exponentially through the coming years.
Gaining a National Presence
The fledgling company soon began to grow as other funeral home owners and directors in the area became interested in the unique structure and vision of FDLIC. In the beginning, FDLIC grew mainly through word of mouth and referrals from satisfied customers. Funeral directors would hear from other funeral directors that FDLIC operated a little differently than other preneed companies and that it seemed to have something special about its culture and service. In 1990, the company was recognized by INC Magazine as one of the 500 fastest-growing, privately-held companies in the country. So the company, like many funeral homes do, grew simply because customers valued a relationship enough to tell others about it.
As FDLIC grew, it became evident that the company met a need for many other funeral homes too, and the company began expansion efforts into new territories while continuing to concentrate on the growth of existing clients. Soon, it became evident that we would need larger facilities to house the number of employees necessary to serve our increasing client base. In 1994, FDLIC moved into its current office headquarters located at 6550 Directors Parkway in Abilene, Texas where the company continues to operate to this day. The new office allowed for more space to accommodate future employees and for expanded service offerings that would eventually be developed for FDLIC customers.
Since 2000, FDLIC has evolved and expanded even further. Because we wanted our focus to remain on serving each of our individual funeral home clients to the best of our ability, several changes took place over the years. Every customer had unique and individual needs, so our product offerings were updated and broadened to provide more variety and give funeral home owners more choices for their preneed programs. The company directed all of its resources toward providing a full-service approach to client funeral homes and marketing organizations. The FDLIC sales structure was further refined to better serve each customer, and a state-of-the-art training department was developed to train our sales managers as "knowledgeable, trusted business advisors" to our client funeral homes.
FDLIC has now grown far beyond our original founders' expectations. We are currently licensed in 45 states and actively producing in a majority of those states. As a company, we serve funeral homes and marketing organizations all over the nation. Our company's business philosophy is "To Be the Best, Most-Respected Provider of Service to the Funeral Industry." FDLIC is not striving to be the biggest company, or the most profitable, in the industry. We are simply dedicated to being the best and the most-respected, and that has made all the difference as we have continued to establish a national presence and gain recognition for our excellence in service and leadership across the country.
Remaining True to Our Roots
When FDLIC was founded, we were able to meet some of the specific needs of funeral home owners, and we continue to search for and provide innovative business solutions for professionals in the funeral service industry. Our Board of Directors is still made up primarily of funeral service professionals. In fact, Ernest Welch, the last remaining founder of FDLIC, is still an active and vital member of the board to this day. This committed involvement by funeral service practitioners ensures that the needs and interests of funeral directors and their families are always represented in our board meetings and upheld in the company's decision-making process. Because we've never lost sight of our roots in the funeral service profession, we have always been able to differentiate ourselves from large competitors who do not have funeral service roots. We offer our clients not only a relevant perspective, but valuable insight, personal service, and knowledgeable, trusted advice. Overall, our unique perspective and experience as a company has greatly contributed to our rapid growth and continued success.