Attorney: Wal-Mart Collected On Deaths [Life Insurance Policies on People Without Telling Them]

Tampa Tribune ^ | Jul 3, 2007 | ELAINE SILVESTRINI

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Not to worry, it's all about the low prices on low-quality garbage.

[Clintons Are White Trash]

Key employee insurance for employers is nothing new - can’t they find something else to complain about?? I know...it’s Walmart!

[Mr. K]

Where do they get these immature crybabies who write this drivel?

KEY-MAN insurance has been around for decades. It is a good way to protect your business (oh and the thousands of other employess)

[Scythian]

If you ask me that is a disgusting practice and Wallmart should be ashamed of itself, honestly, trying to get a tax break of the death of others? I’m beginning to see why everybody hates them.

[avital2]

it would be irresponsible for a corporation NOT to have key man insurance.

[HEY4QDEMS]

I fail to see what the problem is.

[Guyin4Os]

So what? it is fully appropriate for companies to insure the lives of their workers. It isn't creepy, it is sound business practice. You insure your property and inventory, why not insure your key employees?

When a company loses a valuable employee to death, the expense of recruiting and training a new one to take his place can be quite high. I would be surprised if more companies didn't do the same thing.

[Still Thinking]

So? IF they paid the premiums and didn’t kill the individual in question, it’s none of anyone’s bidness.

[discostu]

Is this going to become another one of those annual stories the media publishes to fill space. Many employers take out term life insurance policies on their employees, about the only part about it that’s bad is that the insurance company frequently puts on travel restrictions (like no more than 5 employees on the same plane) that can be kind of annoying if you’re trying to get a large number of employees someplace other than the office. By and large if your company offers some kind of life insurance benefit you can bet they’ve probably taken out a policy on you. And this is like the 3rd or 4th time somebody has whined about WalMart doing that, people just need to get over it.

[craig_eddy]

And this negatively impacted the employees how, exactly?

They intended to use the money from the policies to offset rising health care costs, a BENEFIT to all of the employees receiving the coverage.

[AmericaUnited]

If you ask me that is a disgusting practice and Wallmart should be ashamed of itself,

What a bunch nonsensical drivel! It is a standard and prudent practice of companies to have insurance on key personnel.

[goodnesswins]

WHAT an ignorant “journalist.” And, what a scummy attorney.

[craig_eddy]

The company settled two lawsuits with employees represented by Myers in Texas and Oklahoma, one for about $10 million and one for about $5 million.

What's a disgusting practice is this lawyer bilking WalMart (and thus their customers) out of $15 million. THAT'S a disgusting practice.

[Michael.SF.]

It seems that each person covered sould have at least been advised that they were covered.

But if 'Key man' coverage was common, then how could a 'key man' not know?

[Abathar]

I am insured with key employee insurance here at my work, but since it is a family business the money will go directly to my wife when I die. The cost of the insurance is dirt cheap and it is a nice bonus coverage on top of my regular policy, I fail to see why people are getting upset over this, companies have been doing this for decades.

[KarlInOhio]

I have to admit that it does look like a confusing tax scam (like so much of life insurance is). Basically WalMart figured that X number of its employees would die, and the insurance overhead was less than the tax savings on converting taxable income to non-taxable insurance payouts.

Key employee insurance is one thing because loosing the replacing the president of the company or even a store manager is expensive, but insuring everyone as a tax dodge? No wonder so many people hate the IRS.

[Scythian]

And this negatively impacted the employees how, exactly? I would take this to the supreme court. No company should be able to make a profit from the death of an employee. I would investigate walmart in relationship to every employee death as they have motive, period. That's my opinion folks, and you're going to have to live with it.

[processing please hold]

Not to worry, it's all about the low prices on low-quality garbage.

Not to worry, it's all about the low prices on low-quality garbage...........from china!

[Scythian]

Oops, I mean “That’s my opinion folks, and you’re going to have to live with it, that is, unless you’re a walmart employee, then you might wind up dead?”

[N3WBI3]

Other then not telling the employees who were insured what is creepy about this? Companies do this all the time! If you lose an employee there is a financial cost to the company and why would you ensure your assets but not youre most important resource, your employees..