Michael Moore, Capitalism, and Dead Peasants Insurance

Here’s what I learned from his new movie.

• Did you know that your employer might have a life insurance policy on you? It's known as Dead Peasants Insurance because, well, you're just a dead peasant in the eyes of your company. The loss of your life impacts the organization's productivity. They deserve a payout, don’t they?
• How do you know if your employer has purchased a dead peasant policy? You don’t.
• Can you make a claim and get some of that money if your loved one died? Shoot, I don’t know.

The weird thing is that I’ve never had a conversation with any HR Professional about Dead Peasants Insurance — and I’ve worked with SVPs of HR, Chief HR Officers, and VPs of Benefits and Total Rewards. No one talks about these policies. Is it because HR doesn’t know, or is it because senior-level HR people keep quiet about these policies?

I once worked with a woman who was both the Chief Benefits Officer and the Senior Risk Management Officer of my former employer — and this sounds like something she’d cook up. It’s a perfect way to reduce medical benefits for employees, limit exposure to insurance costs and retirement expenses, and make a profit when your employee dies. There’s an incentive (shall we call it an employer mandate?) to offer sub-par health insurance, take a life insurance policy out on you, and deny your coverage when you’re sick.

“Die, already. We need to make our quarterly numbers and demonstrate shareholder value.”

Are there any Human Resources professionals have insight into the Dead Peasants policies at their companies? I want the scoop on how companies justify these policies. I want to know more about what you think, too.

• Are these policies morally right?
• Do you think it’s okay for an employer to take out a policy on your life?
• How much do you really hate Michael Moore?