Colonial Penn Life Insurance Review ($9.95 Per Month Plan)

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David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over ten years of experience. He has personally helped more than 1500 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest Youtube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.

Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 15 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.

Anthony Martin is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over ten years of experience and has personally served over 6000 clients with their life insurance needs. He frequently authors entrepreneurial and life insurance content for Forbes, Inc.com, Newsweek, and Entreprenuer.com. Anthony has been consulted as an expert life insurance source for dozens of high-profile websites such as Forbes, Bankrate, Reuters, Fox Business, CNBC, Investopedia, Insurance.com, Yahoo Finance, and many more.

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Would it surprise you to learn that a single $9.95 Colonial Penn unit would give a 50-year-old male only $1,786 of life insurance?

And if you’re older than 50, a unit will give you even less coverage than that!

Here’s another example.

A 75-year-old female will get only $792 of life insurance coverage from a single $9.95/month unit.

Also, all their units have a 2-year waiting period before you’re insured.

The bottom line is that Colonial Penn’s $9.95 units are a bad buy.

You can get way more coverage for the dollar spent from other life insurance companies.

Not to mention, multiple other companies offer coverage that has no waiting period.

 

 

 

How The $9.95 Colonial Penn Life Insurance Plan Works

The Colonial Penn life insurance plan for $9.95 per month is a guaranteed acceptance whole life policy with a waiting period of two years.

It offers permanent lifelong coverage with a premium that will never increase and builds cash value.

There are no health questions or exams to determine your eligibility.

They guarantee your approval regardless of what health conditions you may have.

Tip:

With the 995 plan, if you die during the first two years, your beneficiaries will only receive a refund of the premiums plus a small amount of interest. You must live for at least 24 months before your loved ones get the full death benefit.

Strangely, they sell this coverage using a unit system. Each unit provides a particular amount of life insurance.

Twelve units are the maximum amount of death benefit coverage you can buy.

Everyone pays only $9.95 as the monthly premium per insurance unit.

How much coverage amount you get from each unit varies based on your age and gender.

Before you sign on the dotted line, consider this very critical question:

How much life insurance coverage do you get for $9.95?

The short answer is not much.

The following paragraph shows precisely how much coverage a unit provides for all ages.

 

$9.95 Plan Product Details
Policy TypeWhole Life Insurance

Policy DurationLifetime

Fixed PremiumsYes

Underwriting ClassGuaranteed Acceptance
Life Insurance

Health QuestionsNo

Medical ExamNo

2-Year Waiting PeriodYes

States AvailableAll States

New Applicant Age Range50-85

Coverage Options1-12 Units

Cost$9.95 Per Unit
(regardless of age or gender)

 

What Is A Unit?

A unit of Colonial Penn coverage corresponds to the life insurance death benefit amount the policyholders receive for $9.95 per month.

Your age and gender determine the exact amount of insurance coverage a single unit provides.

Below is a table that clearly illustrates how much Colonial Penn life insurance you get using their unit system.

Colonial Penn rate chart

AGE1 Male Unit ($9.95)1 Female Unit ($9.95)

12 units is the most you can buy, and this coverage comes with a 2-year waiting period.

50$1,786 in coverage$2,083 in coverage

51$1,732 in coverage$2,068 in coverage

52$1,676 in coverage$2,022 in coverage

53$1,621 in coverage$1,973 in coverage

54$1,562 in coverage$1,929 in coverage

55$1,506 in coverage$1,884 in coverage

56$1,452 in coverage$1,838 in coverage

57$1,392 in coverage$1,786 in coverage

58$1,333 in coverage$1,732 in coverage

59$1,273 in coverage$1,676 in coverage

60$1,214 in coverage$1,621 in coverage

61$1,157 in coverage$1,562 in coverage

62$1,099 in coverage$1,506 in coverage

63$1,043 in coverage$1,452 in coverage

64$987 in coverage$1,392 in coverage

65$932 in coverage$1,333 in coverage

66$880 in coverage$1,273 in coverage

67$834 in coverage$1,214 in coverage

68$792 in coverage$1,157 in coverage

69$753 in coverage$1,099 in coverage

70$717 in coverage$1,043 in coverage

71$683 in coverage$987 in coverage

72$652 in coverage$932 in coverage

73$620 in coverage$880 in coverage

74$589 in coverage$834 in coverage

75$560 in coverage$792 in coverage

76$531 in coverage$753 in coverage

77$503 in coverage$717 in coverage

78$477 in coverage$683 in coverage

79$450 in coverage$652 in coverage

80$426 in coverage$620 in coverage

81$424 in coverage$589 in coverage

82$423 in coverage$560 in coverage

83$421 in coverage$531 in coverage

84$420 in coverage$503 in coverage

85$418 in coverage$477 in coverage

 

What Is The Colonial Penn Rate Lock?

The Colonial Penn rate lock promises that your life insurance rates will never increase, which is an outstanding feature.

However, it’s not a unique benefit exclusive to Colonial Penn.

They’re referring to the fact that their coverage is a whole life insurance policy with a fixed monthly price.

Tip:

Whole life insurance, no matter whom you buy it from, always has a locked-in rate.

There is no such thing (with any insurance carrier) as whole life insurance with an adjustable premium.

 

Alternate Colonial Penn Whole Life Insurance Option

They don’t advertise it, but Colonial Penn offers another whole life policy outside their $9.95 plan.

As you can see from their products page, this whole life policy is much different.

In short, this policy isn’t sold by the unit and has an underwriting component. It’s not a guaranteed issue plan, so you’ll have to qualify medically.

No medical exam is required, but you must answer these health questions.

If you’re approved, there is no waiting period.

The underwriting on this plan is rather strict, so unless you’re in picture-perfect health, don’t expect to qualify.

Even if you do qualify, the prices aren’t very competitive.

For example, A 66-year-old male would pay $70.15 per month for $10,000 in coverage with this Colonial Penn whole life plan.

In comparison, Mutual of Omaha would charge only $59.85 per month.

Below is a table that compares both of their whole life options.

 

FeaturesGuaranteed Acceptance
Whole Life ($9.95/Unit)
Whole Life
With Health Questions

New Applicant
Age Range
50-8540-75

Coverage Options1-12 Units$10,000 – $50,000

Has Health QuestionsNoYes

2-Year Waiting PeriodYesNo

Medical Exam RequiredNoNo

 

Living Insurance® from Colonial Penn

When you apply for their whole life product with health questions, they give you the option to add two different “living benefit” riders.

These riders cost extra, and you can only choose one. You cannot have both added to your policy.

  • Critical Illness: This allows you to access up to 50% of your death benefit if you suffer a heart attack, stroke, or are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
  • Cancer: Allows you to receive up to 50% of your death benefit if you are diagnosed with cancer (not all forms) or a terminal illness.

Essentially, they provide an additional layer of protection if you’re ever diagnosed with a chronic illness or major health event.

If you opt to purchase their whole life policy with health questions, adding one of these riders would be a good idea.

 

Colonial Penn Does Not Offer Term Life Insurance

Although they did in the past, Colonial Penn currently does not sell term life insurance.

At present, whole life insurance is the only type of policy they offer.

If you currently have a term life policy with Colonial Penn, they will honor it per the terms of the original agreement.

 

Colonial Penn Customer Complaints

Over the years, they have racked up quite a few Colonial Penn life insurance complaints. When you analyze their complaint ratio with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, their numbers are well above the average.

Their 2021 NAIC complaint ratio for individual life insurance products was 23.29, nearly 23 times higher than the average life insurance company.

Them getting many complaints isn’t surprising given their misleading advertising.

When an insurance company makes it appear as if everyone can get $10,000 in life insurance coverage for $9.95 per month, it’s no surprise that many angry customers file grievances.

 

Third-Party Financial Strength Ratings

Colonial Penn has an A- (Excellent) rating with AM Best, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings. Moody’s has their rating at A3.

The one rating organization where they shine brightest is the Better Business Bureau. They currently have an A+ rating with the BBB.

 

Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company Background

AARP’s co-founder Leonard Davis founded Colonial Penn Life Insurance company in 1968. Colonial Penn is owned by the parent company CNO Financial Group.

They were one of the first insurers to offer guaranteed acceptance policies. They have even sold Medicare supplemental plans in the past.

For many years, Alex Trebek was the face of Penn Life Insurance Company. He was their paid endorser until his death on November 8, 2020.

They now feature Colonial Penn sales manager Jonathan Lawson as the pitchman in their commercials.

Most of their licensed insurance agents work from the home office in downtown Philadephia Pennsylvania. However, some of their agents work from home.

  • Website: www.colonialpenn.com
  • Address: 399 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19181
  • Phone number (all states except NY): 1-877-877-8052
  • Phone number for New York residents: 1-800-323-4542

 

How To Find Better Options Than Colonial Penn Final Expense Insurance

If you are looking for life insurance for final expenses or anything else, you can 100% get a much lower price elsewhere.

In addition, you can likely get coverage with no waiting period.

The biggest issue with Alex Trebek’s life insurance is that you’re dealing with a captive insurance company.

When you speak to a Colonial Penn agent, they cannot shop around and show you another insurance company that could potentially give you a better deal.

The trick to finding the best and most affordable final expense life insurance (or any other type of life insurance) is to work with an independent insurance agency. Only an independent agency can compare offers from multiple providers.

An independent broker such as Choice Mutual will shop the market for you to determine which insurance carrier has the best price and coverage based on your unique situation.

Believe it or not, it does not cost you a fee to work with an independent agency, and the insurance itself isn’t more expensive.

Working with an independent agency can save you as much as 70% on your life insurance (this is not an exaggeration).

You can call us at 1-800-644-2926, and we can assist you. We’re independent and have over 15 different A rating companies that we will shop for you. Final expense life insurance is our specialty. It’s all we do.

Below are genuine reviews from past customers who allowed us to serve them.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

One unit of Colonial Penn Life insurance costs $9.95 per month regardless of your age or gender.

Colonial Penn life insurance plans are generally not a good deal compared to other providers. For starters, most Colonial Penn clients have a 2-year waiting period that could have been avoided elsewhere. That aside, their prices are much higher than many other companies.

Everyone, regardless of their age and gender, pays just $9.95 for their guaranteed acceptance coverage. The most you can buy is 12 units. The amount of life insurance provided by a single unit depends on your exact age and gender.

Is there a Colonial Penn life insurance rate chart?

AGE1 Male Unit ($9.95)1 Female Unit ($9.95)

50$1,786 in coverage$2,083 in coverage

55$1,506 in coverage$1,884 in coverage

60$1,214 in coverage$1,621 in coverage

65$932 in coverage$1,333 in coverage

70$717 in coverage$1,043 in coverage

75$560 in coverage$792 in coverage

80$426 in coverage$620 in coverage

85$418 in coverage$477 in coverage

Colonial Penn burial insurance is generally their guaranteed acceptance 995 plan. You cannot be denied due to pre-existing conditions and everyone pays just $9.95 per unit. How much coverage you get for a single unit depends on your gender and age.