Anyone can take out a life insurance policy on another person.
Some larger companies had a neat trick to generate extra wealth. They'd take out life insurance policies on workers that have a shorter life expectancy due to various aspects. These payments were tax deductible and anytime they got a big cash out, it was generally tax exempt.
However, anyone can see how there are major conflicts of interest here. A few nudges here and there and big cash out may happen much sooner.