Is Your Employer Betting on Your Death?

Key person insurance is designed to pay a life insurance death benefit to a business rather than individual beneficiaries if the insured person dies.

Corporate Owned Life Insurance (or “Dead Peasant”) Litigation

https://www.clearmanlaw.com/corporate-owned-life-insurance-dead-peasant-litigation

One of Wal-Mart’s long list of worker abuses–“dead peasants” insurance where it takes out life insurance policies on its low-level workers and collects the cash when they die–got a kick in the head in federal court.

That’s because the estate of one dead worker, Douglas Sims, sued for damages, saying Wal-Mart robbed his heirs of money that was rightfully theirs.
Lower federal courts agreed and, on Jan. 5, so did the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

More than 100 companies, led by Wal-Mart, created the “dead peasants” policies. Legal changes in 1998 led Wal-Mart to halt the practice,
but not before it had insured all but 3,500 of the 350,000 potential workers it covered, the suit says.

Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story' - Wal-Mart 'Dead Peasants' Scene

https://youtu.be/frs25RsstoA

Employers Betting On Your Death

https://www.sabatiniemploymentlaw.com/employment-law-blog/2009/february/employers-betting-on-your-death/

The Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers (PACE) has campaigned against Wal-Mart’s “dead peasants” insurance and brought the issue to Congress. Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, introduced legislation last year outlawing the practice, but it has gone nowhere.

“By ruling against Wal-Mart, the appeals court is sending a message to other companies that it is unethical, at the very least,
for them to take out life insurance on their employees and be the beneficiaries,” said PACE spokeswoman Lynne Baker.

Court slams Walmart’s use of ‘dead peasant’ insurance

https://workdaymagazine.org/court-slams-walmarts-use-of-dead-peasant-insurance/

'Dead Peasant' insurance remains an issue
“Dead Peasant” insurance gets its name from Winn Dixie stores. The company bought life insurance policies on 36,000 employees. But those employees never knew.

https://www.newspressnow.com/dead-peasant-insurance-remains-an-issue/article_8dbdfd15-a2be-559d-98b4-d6da2c7631b6.html

What Is “Dead Peasant” aka COLI Insurance?

https://myfasttermquotes.com/dead-peasant-insurance/

'Capitalism: A Love Story' 'Dead Peasant' Takes on Amegy Bank

https://youtu.be/8PsIHQxnVQw

What Is Dead Peasants Insurance?
Dead peasants insurance is a term used to describe insurance purchased by businesses on the lives of employees for the express benefit of the company.

https://www.keypersoninsurance.com/what-is-dead-peasants-insurance/

Key Person Insurance: Definition, Cost And Coverage

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/life-insurance/key-man-insurance/

Confidential Key Person Protection for M&A

https://www.tysers.com/confidential-key-person-protection-for-ma/

original on ABC News Good Morning America:

https://web.archive.org/web/20100625222742/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cLrXYmUurE