Forum Post: "Over My Dead Body!" We Peasants Must Revolt Against The Practice Identified In This Article: Widow Sues Late Husband’s Employer Over “Dead Peasant” Insurance Policy

Widow Sues Late Husband’s Employer Over “Dead Peasant” Insurance Policy

(see article cut and pasted below)

Since I have signed a few employment agreements (containing very fine print and likely including consent to 'Dead Peasant Policies') with 3 big publicly traded companies in the past I know for a fact that 2 of them are known to practice taking out 'Dead Peasant' insurance policies on employees which means that when I die, very likely whichever obituary and county records tracking service these insurance companies use will report my demise and trigger disbursement of funds as named in the policies hence those employers will collect a similar amount on my 'Peasant Corpse' as the man identified in the below article even though I have not worked for the carrying employers for over 15 years-a great way for big publicly traded companies to 'float' and inflate their value on the backs of the corpses of us 'Dead Peasants'/'Over My Dead Body,' eh?

This has got to stop: Are there any lawyers who would consider drafting and submitting petition for legislation that would prevent this practice and require that those of us who have such policies on our heads be updated by such insurers by mail and via a searchable database along with an 'opt out' ability for policies that were taken out within the last 20 years at minimum long after we are no longer employed by the company/s whom we signed such agreements with?

From the article below, this fact is the most despicable of all that incited me to post at the moment:"These policies can continue for years after an employee has left an employer."

http://jonathanturley.org/2009/02/25/peasant-uprising-widow-sues-late-husbands-employer-over-dead-peasant-insurance-policy/

Peasant Uprising: Widow Sues Late Husband’s Employer Over “Dead Peasant” Insurance Policy Published 1, February 25, 2009 Society , Torts43 Comments

Irma Johnson, a Texas widow, is suing after she was mistakingly informed that the employer of her late husband Daniel Johnson was to receive $1.6 million after his death under a practice known in the industry as a “dead peasant” insurance policy. Under this common practice, employers take out life insurance on employees and write off the payments as a business expense. They then collect a windfall when one of the “peasants” die.

The postal service triggered the lawsuit by misdirecting the check made out to Amegy Bank, her husband’s former employer.

These policies can continue for years after an employee has left an employer.

Wal-Mart was recently sued over its use of dead peasant policies of low-level employees and agreed to pay $10.4 million to the families of 380 employees. This has led to protests, including this video. The Walmart litigation was protracted and once again the company fought the lawsuit to guarantee bad press and then settled.

When a policy was written in 2001 for Daniel Johnson, he already had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The project manager had undergone two brain surgeries to remove a tumor and was getting radiation treatments. He was unable to walk or talk. It appears that, while most insurance companies would laugh at individuals seeking insurance at such a medical stage, a bank can get a $1.6 million policy without difficulty.

What is particularly galling is that the bank (then Southwest Bank of Texas), criticized his job performance and demoted him. After buying a supplemental insurance policy, he was fired five months later and then died the following summer.

Here is a clip from a Walmart-Amegy corporate retreat. The key is to first insure the peasants before using them for clay pigeons.

For the full story, click here: http://www.chron.com/business/article/Houston-widow-sues-after-bank-profits-on-1722146.php