Are there safe life insurance policies for seniors?

My mother is 78. Last year she obtained an insurance policy--the beneficiary being our unemployed brother. She is very secretive and won't share information about the policy with me or other siblings, but we know the insurance company makes an automatic deduction of $500 from her checking account each month. She has provided different figures about the payout; $250k to $1 million. She has also said she must live ten years (or twenty years) for our brother to receive the benefit. She said she had to take an exam to get the insurance. This all sounds fishy and possibly like a scam to us. Does anyone know about these life insurance policies for seniors?