Insurance companies are reporting a jump in death payouts due to a dramatic rise in the number of deaths. The rise in the death rate is being corroborated by death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The death rate is up by 40 percent from pre-pandemic levels according to Scott Davison, chief executive of OneAmerica, a major insurance company based in Indianapolis. During an online news conference on Dec. 30, 2021, Davison said the change was unprecedented. “We are seeing, right now, the highest death rates we have seen in the history of this business,” he said. OneAmerica sells life insurance to employers nationwide, and similar figures are found throughout the industry. “The data is consistent across every player in that business,” Davison said. “And what we saw just in the third quarter—we’re seeing it continue into the fourth quarter—is that death rates are up …