Driving home from work on Wednesday, a report on NPR left me feeling very angry with some big insurance companies -- who are making money from the death benefits of members of the military.

The CBS Evening News did a similar report. Both outlets gave full credit to Bloomberg Markets Magazine and its investigation which is linked here.

The basic gist: Life insurance companies are making millions of dollars by holding on to the benefits money. Instead of just cutting a check for $400,000 (the standard life insurance payout for survivors of service members) companies like Prudential say they will hold the money in safekeeping and pay the families 0.5 percent interest.

The companies don't mention that they will be earning much more than that 0.5 percent on the money. And the companies send the families something that looks like a checkbook -- but isn't. When families have tried to write checks on these accounts, they are told they can't be verified.

That's because the insurance company has the money, not a bank.

And while this information is included in the packet of material families get, it's certainly not highlighted. And the families interviewed have said no one spelled out how things work to them.

Insurance companies have a right to make money. But profiting from the death benefits of military members seems cold, at best, and immoral if not illegal at worst. 

Are families of soldiers killed in Aghanistan or Iraq going to make the best decisions as they struggle with mountains of information and paperwork? Or will they just assume the nice man or woman from the insurance company is looking out for them?

The insurance companies have responded to the Bloomberg report by saying that the families can withdraw the money and close their accounts at any time.They also point out that they are assuming risks in the market that the families are not.

The Veterans Administration is launching its own investigation.

Do the families need to pay more attention to paperwork, or are the insurance companies taking advantage? As Bloomberg reports, these types of accounts have become standard in much of the insurance industry. But does that make it right?