Getting term life insurance quotes for yourself or your spouse is straightforward and usually easy and painless. These policies help provide for your loved ones after you have passed away.

What you may not realize is that some banks are buying life insurance policies on their employees. These policies help pay bonuses and sometimes pensions that are owned to executives. The beneficiaries on these policies are the banks themselves. Most of the policies were taken out during the insurance bubble. Bank of America Corp. has $17.3 billion in life insurance policies on its employees followed by Wachovia Corp. with $12 billion and JP Morgan Chase & Co. with $11.1 billion.

The bank receives tax-free death benefits when employees, former employees or retirees die. They then use this money to fund pensions and bonuses.

The rules enacted by Congress in 2006 limited the buying of insurance policies to the top third of earners but this rule only does not change any policies bought before August 2006.

Banks are not the only business that does this, thousands of over companies do to. When you die, your company may be benefiting from your death.