J. Benjamin Hardwick sits in the pews of the smaller worship room in his church, Praises of Zion Baptist Church. The policies were purchased during the peak in “investor-owned” life insurance, an arrangement whereby investors pay the premiums on policies for people who aren’t their relatives. In 2013, Aegon AEG 0.53% NV’s Transamerica Life Insurance Co. raised the rates on those policies. Hardwick poses with a check from Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance in 2004, the first year policies were issued to congregants. It also sheds light on the once-hot use of “investor-owned” life insurance for nonprofit fundraising.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 31, 2017 10:52 UTC