Health and Life Insurance Companies Invest in McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King and Others

Published: Tue 20 Apr 2010

Lucas Eichmann

With health and life insurance providers, one would hope that the top priority of the companies would be their policyholders' well-being. On the contrary, a recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health indicates that these insurers have a sordid little secret-they invest millions of dollars in fast-food restaurants.

Harvard Medical School performed the study in cooperation with the Cambridge Health Alliance. They looked closely at the largest 11 companies that provide health or life insurance and their ownership of fast-food company stock.

The insurance companies' holdings included stakes in McDonald's, Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, and Long John Silver's), Burger King, the Wendy's/Arby's group, and Jack in the Box. Based on data from Yahoo! Finance, the researchers discovered that the top insurance companies held a total of $1.88 billion in fast-food company stock as of June 11 of 2009.

Stunning Irony

Dr. Wesley Boyd, one of the authors of the study, recognized the stunning irony in health and life insurance companies dumping money into the fast-food industry. "In order to generate profits, they will invest in any area they need to make money, even if what the invest in, in this case fast food, is an industry known to cause people to get sick and die early."

At the top of the list was Northwestern Mutual with $422.2 million of fast-food stock. The company claimed the study's figures were inaccurate. They argued that well-being was a "high priority" for their clients and employees, but conceded that they also required "high-quality returns" on their investments.

Study's Recommendations

In addition to jettisoning fast-food company stock, the study recommends that insurers leverage their investments and encourage the fast-food industry to include health options on their menus. This move would be especially helpful in urban areas where fast-food is ubiquitous, but grocery stores that stock fresh food are virtually nonexistent.Fresh, health menu options could improve the health of many Americans, but the study overlooks the impact of fast food on the health of the planet. Each year, the average American visits fast-food restaurants 150 times and throws about 300 pounds of packaging waste in the garbage. Putting pressure on the fast-food industry to change menu and packaging options would make for a healthier population and a cleaner environment.