How about Dead Peasant's Insurance, sorry, COLI (corporate-owned life insurance)? Policies that a company takes out on its employees with itself as a beneficiary, not the employee's family.
Employees were often unaware the policy exists, or only gave only vague consent buried in onboarding paperwork. Companies used it partly as a tax shelter, since the death benefits are generally received tax-free and cash value can grow tax-deferred.
It does still exist, though more tightly regulated, requiring explicit consent and only really able to be used on "extremely highly compensated employees" (executives).
Employees were often unaware the policy exists, or only gave only vague consent buried in onboarding paperwork. Companies used it partly as a tax shelter, since the death benefits are generally received tax-free and cash value can grow tax-deferred.
It does still exist, though more tightly regulated, requiring explicit consent and only really able to be used on "extremely highly compensated employees" (executives).