Skip to content

2 Good Reasons To Avoid Colonial Penn’s $9.95 Plan – Review

2 Reasons To Avoid Colonial Penn's 9.95 Plan

We have all seen the commercials for Colonial Penn’s $9.95 plan. Today, it is the Jonathan Lawson Colonial Penn commercials where he promotes Colonial Penn’s $9.95 plan for seniors.

This is a guaranteed acceptance plan that requires no medical exam and you can call the 800 number to get free information regarding the plan.

Since we all know it, the question many folks wonder is, “Is Colonial Penn’s $9.95 worth buying?”

Well, there is a better option out there available to you today!

It’s called final expense insurance.

Before, we get into what those options, let’s just do a quick review of Colonial Penn and their $9.95 plan.

Quick History of Colonial Penn

Now Colonial Penn is a Philadelphia based life insurance company. The company was founded by philanthropist Leonard Davis in 1963. Mr. Davis was also the co-founder of AARP. Today Colonial Penn is now owned by CNO Financial Group.

Now according to the New York Times, at the time of its founding, Colonial Penn pioneered insurance programs for the elderly. The company was best known for products like health and automobile insurance for folks age 65 and older.

However, back in 1968, Colonial Penn became known as one of the first insurers to offer folks ages 50 and over a guaranteed acceptance life insurance plan. Today, Colonial Penn‘s $9.95 Guaranteed Acceptance Plan is their most popular plan.

So how does the Colonial Penn 9.95 Plan work?

How Colonial Penn’s $9.95 Plan Works

Colonial Penn’s 9.95 plan is a guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance policy. This policy is available to folks ages 50-85 in most states. Since Colonial Penn’s 9.95 plan is guaranteed acceptance, there are no health questions and there is no medical exam.

Colonial Penn offers their coverage based on units (up 15 units can be purchased). Each unit starts at a locked-in rate of $9.95 per month.

Now how much coverage each unit provides is based on your age, gender, and state of residence.

So let’s say for example, a 60 year old male and a 70 year old male in Ohio both selected 1 unit of coverage. Their premiums would each be $9.95 per month. However, how much insurance coverage that 1 unit will provide to the 60 year old male and 70 year old male will differ due to their ages.

Now this is different from other insurance carriers. With other insurance carriers, you simply select the amount of coverage you would like (for example – $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 in coverage) and you are told your premium based on your age gender and health.

Now as the name states, Colonial Penn’s Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance guarantees your acceptance regardless of pre-existing conditions. However, like most guaranteed acceptance life insurance, there is a limited death benefit in the first two years of coverage.

If you die in the first two years of coverage due to a non-accidental death, the policy will pay a return of your premium plus 7% interest compounded annually. However, if you anytime after the first two years of coverage, the policy will pay the full face amount regardless of the cause of death.

If you pass away due to accidental causes in the first two years of coverage, the policy will pay the full face amount.

Now based on what I have explained so far, there are two reasons why I would encourage you to consider coverage from somewhere else before you buy Colonial Penn’s 9.95 plan. Here they are!

Reason #1 – Final Expense Insurance Offers More Coverage For Less Money Than The $9.95 Plan

Final expense insurance typically offers more coverage for the same rates as Colonial Penn’s insurance. A final expense policy is a small whole life insurance policy intended to pay for final expenses such as funeral and burial costs.

This is the same type of insurance as Colonial Penn’s 9.95 plan EXCEPT you have to answer a few simple health questions to see if you qualify.

Just like Colonial Penns’s 9.95 plan however, there are no medical exams.These policies typically offer $2,500 to $50,000 in coverage.

The reason a final expense policy offers more coverage for less money than Colonial Penn’s 9.95 plan is because final expense insurance asks a few simple health questions. When an insurance company knows more about your health, they more aware of the amount of risk they are underwriting.

Therefore, they can adjust the premiums and levels of coverage accordingly. With a guaranteed acceptance plan like Colonial Penn, the insurance company is not fully aware of the types of risk they are underwriting and must increase the premium to account for that.

So a final expense policy for a 60 year old male in Alabama from a well-known final expense company can provide $10,000 in coverage for $47.41 a month.

However, using Colonial Penn’s units of coverage, the same 60 year old male from Alabama can buy 5 units at $49.75 and ONLY receive $5,835 in coverage.

A final expense policy can provide almost twice as much coverage for less money, as we seen above, than Colonial Penn’s 9.95 plan.

Once again, the main reason for this, is the final expense insurance company will ask you a few simple health questions.

Therefore, if you are in relatively decent health and don’t mind answering a few health questions such as “Have you been diagnosed or treated for cancer in the last 5 years,” you should definitely try getting a final expense policy before applying for Colonial Penn’s 9.95 plan.

Not only will this save you money, but it will also get you possibly way more coverage than what you can get with their plan. In addition to this, the policy will also pay out the full death benefit from the first day of coverage.

This leads to reason number 2 why you should not readily buy a Colonial Penn 9.95 plan.

Reason #2- Final Expense Insurance Offers Full Death Benefit Coverage On Day 1 & The $9.95 Plan Does Not

The second reason why you you should not buy their plan is because there is a limited benefit in the first 2-years of coverage. If you were to pass away in the first 2 years of coverage due to non-accidental causes, your loved ones would only receive a refund of premium plus 7% interest.

Many final expense insurance policies offer first day coverage. Once again, this is the benefit of answering a few health questions. If you are healthy or you are in decent health, answering a few health questions should be not big deal. It actually works in your favor. The insurance company is more aware of the risk they are underwriting for each insured and are more willing to provide first day coverage.

With first day coverage, you never have to be concerned about the “what if.” For example, what if I pass away in the first year of my policy due to natural causes, how will my family afford to pay for my funeral expenses? That’s a concern for Colonial Penn policyholders.

However, if you answer a few health questions for a final expense policy and no medical exam needed, then you may qualify for first day coverage death and never be concerned about the “what if.”

So what health conditions may be considered for first day coverage for a final expense policy? Let’s discuss this more.

Accepted Health Conditions For Final Expense

You can get approved for final expense insurance in some cases regardless of your health condition. There are multiple health conditions that are accepted for final expense insurance. To give you an idea, let’s at some of these health conditions in our list below:

Alcohol Abuse/Dependency – no treatment in the last 36 months)

Aneurysm – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Angina – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Angioplasty – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Atrial Fibrillation

Basal Cell Skin Cancer

Brain Tumor – no treatment in the last 36 months

Bypass Surgery – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Cancer – no diagnosis or treatment in the past 5 years

Chronic Hepatitis – no treatment in the last 36 months

Diabetes

Diabetic Coma – no diagnosis in the last 36 months

Drug Abuse/ Dependency – no treatment in the last 36 months

Enlarged Heart – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Heart Attack – no diagnosis in the last 7 -24 months

Insulin Shock – no diagnosis in the last 36 months

Kidney Disease – no treatment in the last 36 months

Kidney Failure – no treatment in the last 36 months

Liver Disease – no treatment in the last 36 months

Mental Disorder – no institutionalization in the last 24 months

Multiple Sclerosis – no treatment in the last 36 months

Neuropathy – no diagnosis in the last 36 months

Nephropathy – no diagnosis in the last 36 months

Pacemaker Implant – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Parkinson’s Disease – no treatment in the last 36 months

Peripheral Vascular Disease – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Retinopathy – no diagnosis in the last 36 months

Sarcoidosis – no treatment in the last 36 months

Schizophrenia – no treatment in the last 36 months

Stent – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Stroke – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Systemic Lupus – no treatment in the last 36 months

Transient Ischemic Attack – no diagnosis in the last 24 months

Based on the list above you can be a cancer survivor, a heart attack survivor, or a stroke survivor and still qualify for a final expense insurance policy!

There are many health conditions listed above where you may still get approved for final expense insurance if as long as you fall within the treatment timelines. Now this list is not exhaustive for all health conditions that are either accepted or not accepted for final expense insurance.

In addition, if you have multiple health conditions, that may lower your chances of qualifying.

Nevertheless, as you can see, it is super-easy to qualify for a policy, especially if you are in good health.

Also, there is no medical exam or blood work needed for a final expense insurance policy!

Now let’s discuss some of the great options for final expense insurance just in case you are not familiar with any options.

Top Final Expense Insurance Options

There are many final expense insurance options available from insurance companies across the nation. Therefore, here are three final expense insurance companies I would recommend for you to consider – Mutual of Omaha, Aetna CVS Health, & Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company.

Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha has great brand recognition. They have been around for over 100 years and have an A+ (Superior) rating from AM Best. The name of their final expense product is “Living Promise.” Living Promise offers great rates and valuable coverage for your final expense needs!

Aetna CVS Health

Aetna CVS Health is another well-known insurance company. In addition to health insurance, they also offer final expense insurance.

Aetna has longevity in the insurance industry. They have been around for almost 170 years!

Aetna also has an “A” (Excellent) rating from AM Best. Now Aetna CVS Health offers a low-cost final expense product that also offers favorable underwriting when it comes to certain health conditions.

That’s why Aetna is great for final expense insurance!

Guarantee Trust Life Insurance

A solid final expense insurance company to consider is Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company.

Guarantee Trust Life offers valuable coverage in their final expense products.

They are not a fly-by-night company as they have been in operation since 1936. They also have an “A-” rating from AM Best.

That being said, I would definitely consider Guarantee Trust Life for your final expense insurance needs.

Conclusion – Get A Final Expense Insurance Quote Before You Buy Colonial Penn!

Now that we see why final expense insurance is a better option than Colonial Penn’s $9.95 plan, start by getting a quote today!

The rates are generally lower with more coverage!

In addition, final expense insurance can offer first day coverage in terms of the death benefit!

There is no medical exam. All you have to do is answer a few simple health questions which should be no issue if you are in decent health.

So don’t delay! Start getting a quote today!