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The goal is to shelter assets from the taxman
If I read the article correctly the only way to collect on this is after the death of the insured. So it really isn't an investment as long as you're alive -- unless you can borrow against it like Panera Bread did according to the article.

KeyCorp declines to comment on Mr. Reid's experience. A spokesman says that "employees do not pay premiums, and therefore there's no reason to disclose the details of the policy to them."
That's just wrong.

If I read the article correctly the only way to collect on this is after the death of the insured. So it really isn't an investment as long as you're alive -- unless you can borrow against it like Panera Bread did according to the article.

It isn't the collecting that's so important.

If you've got a whole-life insurance policy you can manage the contributed funds as you please and when the fund is eventually liquidated, instead of being hit with a capital gains tax, the money is tax free.

Saying that the policy isn't really an investment while you're still alive is like saying that your retirement savings aren't really an investment until you retire. Untrue.

If you put $10,000 of retirement money into your retirement account and the stock shoots up 100%, you now have $20,000 in your retirement account. Just because you can't draw on it today without penalties doesn't mean it isn't an investment. It's still part of your net worth.

Likewise, when a company that invested $5,000,000 in employee life insurance sees the money invested in that insurance shoot up to $10,000,000 it now has a $10,000,000 asset on its balance sheet, which strengthens its credit profile and adds to the company's inherent value.

That's just wrong.

If she wanted to pay the premiums, my wife could take out a $1,000,000 policy on me tomorrow without telling me. Is that just wrong?