Understanding The Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan for Seniors
If you are wondering what the Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan entails or covers you are in the best place to learn. The Colonial Penn 995 plan is not suitable to you or any seniors needs due to the fact that it is overpriced with a 2 year waiting period. It is a whole life insurance policy designed to pay funeral, burial, cremation and any other end of life expenses.
It is the same as any other guaranteed final expense insurance(guaranteed issue life insurance) except that it is over priced compared to other more suitable life insurance coverage. The only time Colonial Penn could be suitable is for seniors over 80 as most guaranteed issue life insurance companies will not offer life insurance to seniors over 80.
In this article we will help you learn exactly what it is, provide their unit pricing, policy details and if you really still feel that you want to buy it after this review a link to purchase.
Table of contents
- Understanding The Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan & It’s Waiting Period
- Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Cost
- Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Payout Based on Unit Costs
- Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Pros & Cons
- Colonial Penn Plans Compared to Other Companies
- Seniors Over 80 That Only Qualify for Guaranteed Issue
- Buy Colonial Penn Life Insurance $9.95 Plan
- Colonial Penn Ratings & Customer Reviews
- Colonial Penn Contact Information & Background
- Working with a Life Insurance Expert Insurance Agent
- Working with a Captive Insurance Provider
- Buy Life Insurance with An Agent/Broker
- Conclusion
Understanding The Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan & It’s Waiting Period
The Colonial Penn $9.95 plan is a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy with no underwriting, no medical exams, no health questions, smaller death benefits, cash value and an approximate price of $9.95 per one unit of insurance coverage.
A unit is a fixed amount of life insurance coverage and varies based on age and gender use our rate chart provided on this post to understand how much per unit is available for your age and gender.
This policy is designed to provide coverage for funeral expenses.
Now the way the plan works is that it pays a lump-sum death benefit to your beneficiary when you die. If you had a policy for $15,000 and end of life expenses are only $10,000 total your beneficiary pays those expenses from the death benefit.
Any money left over is theirs to keep for any purpose. Colonial Penn sends your beneficiary this payment in the form of a check in most cases.
If the amount of funeral and final expenses exceeds the amount of death benefit Colonial Penn $9.95 plan your beneficiary is responsible for paying the difference.
The $9.95 plan is now the only type of policy Colonial Penn Life Insurance offers in all the states they conduct business in except New York.
Now the reason why this plan is not good for seniors is because it is marketed as if it only costs $9.95 per month not matter how much coverage you get and that acceptance is guaranteed without emphasis on the 2 year waiting period.
What They Don’t Say Openly in the Commercials
What Colonial Penn’s spokesman in the most recent commercials Jonathon Lawson does not say in the Colonial Penn commercial is left as fine print for the viewer to read and decipher on their own without a professional. We also talk about this extensively in our Colonial Penn life insurance review.
They state in fine print on their commercials that there is a 2 year limited death benefit period(waiting period) and the 9.95 per month unit of coverage varies based on age and gender.
That means the amount of coverage per unit you are going to get for the 9.95 plan is going to be completely different compared to someone older or younger than you.
If you are under the impression that you are going to be getting $10,000 of life insurance for only $9.95 a month this is not the case.
Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Cost
Below you are going to see a Colonial Penn life insurance rate chart. These are the costs per 1 unit of coverage with Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company.
As you get older the amount of coverage for a unit of Colonial Penn life insurance options decreases.
This is another indicator of why the Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan is not an affordable option for seniors.
If you do simple math take any of these prices per unit and multiply for the amount of coverage you want.
This will give you the approximate amount of coverage and the actual premium Colonial Penn offers.
Age | Male 1 Unit Coverage Amount | Female 1 Unit Coverage Amount |
---|---|---|
50 | $1,669 | $2,000 |
51 | $1,620 | $1,942 |
52 | $1,565 | $1,890 |
53 | $1,515 | $1,845 |
54 | $1,460 | $1,802 |
55 | $1,420 | $1,761 |
56 | $1,370 | $1,719 |
57 | $1,313 | $1,669 |
58 | $1,258 | $1,620 |
59 | $1,200 | $1,565 |
60 | $1,167 | $1,515 |
61 | $1,112 | $1,460 |
62 | $1,057 | $1,420 |
63 | $1,000 | $1,370 |
64 | $949 | $1,313 |
65 | $896 | $1,258 |
66 | $846 | $1,200 |
67 | $802 | $1,167 |
68 | $762 | $1,112 |
69 | $724 | $1,057 |
70 | $689 | $1,000 |
71 | $657 | $949 |
72 | $627 | $896 |
73 | $608 | $846 |
74 | $578 | $802 |
75 | $549 | $762 |
76 | $521 | $724 |
77 | $493 | $689 |
78 | $468 | $657 |
79 | $441 | $627 |
80 | $426 | $608 |
81 | $424 | $578 |
82 | $423 | $549 |
83 | $421 | $521 |
84 | $420 | $493 |
85 | $418 | $468 |
Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Payout Based on Unit Costs
If you do not want to do the math yourself we will do it for you. Let’s go over some example costs using the Units and common burial insurance coverage amounts.
Most of you are going to be looking for a whole life policy providing at least $10,000 in life insurance for seniors.
This is going to require purchasing more than just one 9.95 per unit in order to tailor a permanent life insurance policy to pay your expenses.
You can tailor these plans just like any other final expense life insurance on the market but you will be over paying with Colonial Penn’s guaranteed acceptance plan.
Sample Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Costs $10,000 in Coverage
Male Age 50, 1 unit provides $1,669 in coverage. If you want a $10,000 policy you will need to purchase 6 units of coverage which equals $10,014. The price per unit is $9.95 so $9.95 multiplied by 6 is $59.70 for a policy.
When you do the math for yourself based on the chart it provides the actual monthly rate you will be paying. The comparisons we are going to provide in this article prove other companies are going to be 10-20% less expensive than Colonial Penn.
Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Age Limitations
Colonial Penn does pay after age 85 because it is whole life insurance that never expires. This means as long as premiums are paid on the policy it will pay even after age 85.
Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan Pros & Cons
We will list the pros and cons of Colonial Penn to better help you understand their plan.
Pros
- Simple Online Application & Approval
- Strong Financial Ratings
Cons
- Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period Regardless of Health
- More Expensive Compared to Other Companies
- Only One Product to Choose from Except in New York
Colonial Penn Plans Compared to Other Companies
Below is going to be a table comparing the Colonial Penn $9.95 plans age limitations, waiting periods and sample quotes of their unit prices vs quotes from final expense life insurance companies we work with.
This will give you an accurate comparison as you will see even the guaranteed issue companies below with waiting periods are more affordable than Colonial Penn. Compare Colonial Penn life insurance to what you can get with the companies below.
That sample unit amount you see in the tables is based on a 50 year old and comes out to approximately $10,014(due to the per unit of Colonial Penn coverage structure) of life insurance with Colonial Penn.
The other companies we are comparing it to come out to approximately $10,000 in coverage keep that in mind when understanding the pricing.
Colonial Penn vs. Mutual of Omaha
Ages Available 50-85 | Ages Available 45-85 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | No Waiting Period for Living Promise Level |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $30.68 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Colonial Penn vs. Prosperity Life
Ages Available 50-85 | Ages Available 55-80 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | No Waiting Period for New Vista Level Plan |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $34.52 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Colonial Penn vs. Transamerica
Ages Available 55-85 | Ages Available 45-85 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | No Waiting Period for Preferred Plan |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in Coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in Coverage – $31.54 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Colonial Penn vs. American Amicable
Ages Available 50-85 | Ages Available 50-85 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | No Waiting Period for Immediate Coverage Plan |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $31.64 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Colonial Penn vs. Aetna Accendo
Ages Available 50-85 | Ages Available 40-89 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | No Waiting Period for Preferred & Standard Plans |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $34.39 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Colonial Penn vs. Guarantee Trust Life
Ages Available 50-85 | Ages Available 50-90 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | Automatic 2 Yr Limited Death benefit 50% after Policy Yr 1 & 100% After Policy Yr 2 |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $54.83 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Colonial Penn vs. Gerber Life
Ages Available 50-85 | Ages Available 50-80 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $44.09 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Colonial Penn vs. Cica Life
Ages Available 50-85 | Ages Available 50-85 |
Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period | Automatic 2 Year Waiting Period |
Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $59.70 Based on Unit Prices | Cost for 50 Yr Old Male 10k in coverage – $55.07 Based on Traditional Life Insurance Rates |
Seniors Over 80 That Only Qualify for Guaranteed Issue
If you are a senior over 80 and have any of the following health conditions in the table below Colonial Penn may be your only option in some states due to the fact that Cica life is not available in every state.
Health Condition | Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance Only |
---|---|
Kidney Dialysis | Yes |
Use of Oxygen Tanks (Does not Include Oxygen Concentrator or CPAP) | Yes |
Organ Transplant | Yes |
Alzheimers & Dementia | Yes |
Current Cancer or Cancer Within 12 Months | Yes |
Nursing Home Confinement, Hospital, Mental Health Facility, Hospice | Yes |
Terminal Illness | Yes |
AIDS ARC or HIV | Yes |
Buy Colonial Penn Life Insurance $9.95 Plan
After everything we have shown reviewing Colonial Penn life insurance for seniors if you are still interested in purchasing life insurance with them follow this link. This Colonial Penn guaranteed acceptance page will list the steps to purchase a final expense life insurance policy with them.
- Step 1 says to choose coverage amount
- Step 2 says to complete an online application
- Step 3 says to you are accepted
Those are the steps to take to purchase the Colonial Penn $9.95 plan if you really feel it is the best policy for you.
Colonial Penn Ratings & Customer Reviews
Colonial Penn does have strong financial ratings however which is a positive. Their customer reviews however are a different story.
Third Party Financial Strength Ratings
- Standard & Poor’s Colonial Penn Rating: A-
- Moody’s Colonial Penn Rating: A3
- AM Best Colonial Penn Rating: A-
- Fitch Colonial Penn Rating: A-
- Better Business Bureau Colonial Penn Rating: A+
Customer Reviews & Complaints
We are going to quote the customer customer complaints down below.
BBB Colonial Penn Customer Reviews
10/30/2023
“My mother filled out some information online then decided to call and talked to a person. She told him she’d call back after checking other places. I received 2 calls within half hour. I explained that my mom would call back. I was rudely hung up on. Customer service very bad.”
10/09/2023
“One star is actually being generous. Customer is rude and inconsistent. I have reached out to this company on many occasions to 1 remove my deceased mother off my grandfather’s policy and then continue to send mailing to my mother’s address asking for her to update the policy in question despite documents supporting her death. 2. Inadequate file they have misplaced my power of attorney and marriage documents on countless occasions. 1 time maybe ok 2 or more is not acceptable. Then lastly when I had enough I decided to surrender the policy and even that was a struggle. Again I had to submit all of my documents all over again. Then to push me off the attendance place me on for 20min in counting without a a check in. The is not great practice for any company. Please find another insurance carrier”
10/09/2023
“This company is terrible and seems to prolong claims in anyway possible seemingly in hopes that grieving loved ones will give up or forget about their claims. They’re customer service line is completely disconnected from their “back office” or “claims department” as they call it and apparently can only put written notes in a claim and wait for that claim to be updated. This secret department has no extension and no direct line. There is no way to talk with a supervisor and no way to file a complaint. Every time you call in you will talk to a new person and after you provide them with the policy number they will ask why you’re calling. They don’t even know your loved one is deceased so you get condolences every time you call. They won’t help you in anyway and will only “update” the claim in their “system” and have you call back in another week. My Dad died in August. I filed a claim with Colonial Penn with all required materials at the end of the month. Within a week I received two different letters from Colonial Penn requesting a divorce decree from my parents marriage that ended 39 years ago. Before I went through the hassle of getting the paperwork I called Colonial Penn to ask why they needed this paperwork and exactly what they needed. The representative told me to call back in two days. I did. I was told there was no additional paperwork needed and the claim was being processed and to wait a maximum 17 business days for processing and mailing. I did and nothing came. I called again and was told to call back in a week. So I did. This time I was told the claims department is waiting on a divorce decree from the other beneficiary my Dad’s step daughter. They apparently thought she was his ex-wife?!?!? I explained their relationship and was told to call back in another week. Seriously this company is purposely incompetent. There is no reason other than prolonging a claim to have zero communication between your customer service reps and your claim department.”
Colonial Penn Contact Information & Background
The companies that are above Colonial Penn would be CNO financial Group and Conseco Life Insurance Company of Texas.
- HQ Location: Philadelphia, PA
- Customer Service Number: 1-800-523-9100
- Founded in 1968
- Current President: Joel Schwartz
- Previous Names: Conseco Direct Life between 1998-2001
- Founder: Leonard Davis
- Website: https://colonialpenn.com/
Working with a Life Insurance Expert Insurance Agent
Working with a licensed insurance agent is the best way to find affordable life insurance because agents can shop multiple companies to best suit your needs.
They can find the lowest price points and know exactly which life coverage is best for you based on your health conditions to avoid a 2 year waiting period.
An agent or broker can provide multiple life insurance quotes from different companies to help you make an informed decision.
You do not pay extra on premiums for using an agent because agents are typically compensated via a salary or commission.
Working with a life insurance agent/broker guarantees you will find the best life insurance for seniors if they represent over 10 different life insurance companies.
Agents are typically licensed and trained to provide multiple life insurance quotes or sell policies that fit your health profile.
Working with a Captive Insurance Provider
Now Colonial Penn’s 995 plan is a guaranteed issue plan and that is all you can get with them. They are captive meaning they cannot offer any other life insurance plans. They also do not offer term life insurance despite some claims online that they do.
This is why in order to actually be successful in your life insurance needs you should be working with a professional agent.
Agents are educated field underwriters that are trained to find you the best priced coverage that have a strong chance of providing coverage for you with no waiting periods.
Now your health still plays a factor you may not be eligible for no waiting periods if you have certain health conditions.
That being said it is better to have a professional broker tell you that rather than buying a waiting period when you may not need one.
Buy Life Insurance with An Agent/Broker
When you work with a life insurance agent you are not working directly with a life insurance carrier. Agents like us have access to multiple life insurance companies to shop the market for you to provide the best policy and price possible.
Instead of just going with the 9.95 life insurance plan if you are healthy talk to an agent that will better serve you in understanding your options. The life insurance benefit amount you are looking for will be much more affordable with no waiting periods depending on your health.
Conclusion
In conclusion the truth about Colonial Penn 995 plan is that it just a bad option for seniors under age 80 or seniors in good health.
You can find much more affordable final expense life insurance with no waiting period options than Colonial Penn offers.
As we have shown there are several Colonial Penn negative reviews for their permanent whole life insurance Colonial Penn 9.95 plan.
Buying the Colonial Penn plan has proven yield bad reviews from customers like the ones we referenced in this article.
The Colonial Penn 995 plan commercial can be misleading considering seniors need to pay attention to fine print that is not emphasized or expounded upon further.
Colonial Penn life insurance policies are more expensive due to their unit of Colonial Penn coverage system that decreases with age.
In our professional opinion and Colonial Penn $9.95 plan review we recommend you shop somewhere else for burial insurance.
Unless you are over the age of 80 and only qualify for guaranteed issue life coverage in a state where Cica life insurance is not available. Unless you fall into those 2 categories we do not believe Colonial Penn will benefit you.