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Buying life insurance can be confusing. There are a lot of companies out there, all promising peace of mind, affordable rates, and some even pushing guaranteed acceptance. But is the Colonial Penn $9.95 plan everything it claims to be?

Let’s cut through their marketing noise. Below is our expert review based on years of working with real clients age 50 to 90. You’ll find honest answers, detailed comparisons, and straight-up facts about what this policy can (and can’t) do for your family.

What Is the Colonial Penn $9.95 Plan?

Colonial Penn’s $9.95 per month life insurance plan is a rebranded Guaranteed Acceptance Whole Life policy. You’ve probably seen the commercials. It’s marketed to folks between the ages of 50–85. But here’s what they don’t tell you up front:

• You’re buying “units,” not a fixed dollar amount of coverage.
• Each $9.95 unit buys less coverage as you get older.
• The policy has a 2-year waiting period for natural causes of death.

Guaranteed acceptance sounds good — but that peace of mind comes with serious trade-offs.

Jonathan Lawson and the Rebrand

The newest face of Colonial Penn is Jonathan Lawson, an actual employee of the company. This is a shift from past paid celebrity endorsers like Ed McMahon or Alex Trebek.

Why the change? Likely to make the marketing seem more genuine and trustworthy. But the truth is, the policy hasn’t changed much. The $9.95 price point is still the bait and hook. The coverage amount remains underwhelming for most seniors.

Guaranteed Acceptance Explained

In the past, there were a 2 different Colonial Penn whole life insurance options. Only one remains available.

The company advertisements say, “No health questions. Guaranteed acceptance.” Sounds great, right?

Here’s the reality of policy ownership:

• Because they don’t ask about your health, the policy is automatically priced for very high risks.
• To protect themselves, they include a 2-year limited benefit period right upfront — meaning if you die from natural causes in the first two years, your family gets a refund plus fixed interest (currently 7%), but not the full death benefit.

⚠️ Quick Tip: People between 50–85 can qualify for immediate coverage with better pricing — simply by answering a few health history questions to obtain instant approval with the right insurer and policy. Find a life insurance broker who knows the senior insurance market thoroughly.

⚠️ Don’t Be Fooled by $9.95!

Colonial Penn’s commercials make it sound like $9.95/month buys you full coverage. Reality check: not unless you need a very, very small policy. There’s also a 2-year waiting period before your family gets the full payout if you pass away unexpectedly except in the case of an accident.

Most seniors, about 85% can get better coverage immediately for a lower price by answering a few health questions. Protect your family without the smoke and mirrors.📞 Talk to a Life Insurance Expert, 269-244-3420.

⏳ I Don’t Mind Waiting 2 Years For Full Benefits.

Maybe you are going to live a very long time, sure. But, do you think your family feels secure knowing that the coverage on you is or, could be very limited in those first 2 years? Now, if your health is pretty decent or you just don’t want to talk about it with an agent, why not simply apply for a lower cost, full 1st day coverage policy with an automated, direct to consumer life insurance platform instead? Ethos is an answer to your dilemma. You can get more affordable instant final expense insurance policy without any agent conversation and the family gets peace of mind.

How the Unit Pricing Works

Colonial Penn’s $9.95 plan sells coverage in “units” — not dollars. Units are not the industry standard for pricing life insurance. With that said, in 2026, the maximum number of units you can purchase is 25. Each unit always costs $9.95/month, but the death benefit you get per unit shrinks with age until you purchase the policy and lock in your lifetime value.

Take a good look at the chart below to see how much insurance you get for $9.95 a month with Colonial Penn.

Age	Male Coverage/Unit	Female Coverage/Unit
50	$1,669	$2,000
60	$1,167	$1,515
70	$689	$1,000
80	$426	$608
85	$418	$468

✅ Premiums stay level once purchased — notice that the value of each unit is lower each year until purchased.

Pros and Cons of Colonial Penn Whole Life Insurance

👍 Pros:

• No medical exams
• Acceptance guaranteed (ages 50–85)
• Premiums never increase
• Whole Life Insurance for Final Expense planning

👎 Cons:

• Very low death benefits
• High cost per dollar of coverage
• 2-year waiting period for natural death causes
• High complaint ratio per NAIC

Colonial Penn vs. Other Companies

Let’s compare the Colonial Penn $9.95 plan with a few top-rated insurers.

Male, age 64:
Colonial Penn: 10 units = $99.50/month = $9,490 of coverage
Gerber Life: $10,000 of coverage = $81.22/month

Female, age 64:
Colonial Penn: 7 units = $69.65/month = $9,191 of coverage
Gerber Life: $10,000 of coverage = $61.05/month

Gerber is clearly cheaper offering $1000.00 more insurance, and better 2-year graded benefits in this example.

Not sure and want to get some competitors pricing, use our instant quoting tool and see for yourself. Most seniors nearly 85% qualify for “Excellent Health” for final expense whole life insurance. Just compare yourself to other seniors, not to your 21 year old self.

Why So Many Complaints?

According to the NAIC, Colonial Penn had over 4x the complaint rate of similar-sized insurers in 2022.

Most complaints stem from:

• Misleading advertising
• Confusion about the 2-year waiting period
• Dissatisfaction with how little coverage was purchased

Consumer Tip: Always review the Colonial Penn policy carefully. Understand the limitations and how it will affect your loved ones if you pass away unexpectedly during the 1st couple of years. The policy will define what your loved ones will receive. Don’t rely on the commercial or name of the company. It lacks a lot of clarity. If you have purchased, you may use the free look period (20–30 days) by state law to cancel if the policy isn’t right for you. You will, in that case, be able to receive a full return of premium paid.

Better Burial Insurance Options

I think you will find there are a lot of negative Colonial Penn reviews surrounding their policies. While I don’t believe that Colonial Penn $9.95 life insurance is useless…let’s be frank. Suggesting burial expenses for a senior will be covered for $9.95 a month is a little outrageous or very misleading. One or the other. If you are over 80 and have active internal cancer, in most cases, guaranteed issue whole life is your only solution. CP accepts applicants as old as 85. Bear in mind, guaranteed acceptance insurance is very, very expensive for $10,000 of coverage in this age bracket. Your premiums will be hundreds per month, not “$9.95.”

The average cost of a funeral around the US is $10,000 and rising. $9.95 a month with this policy will put a very small dent in your final expenses. Of course, this is after you have paid into the company for 2 full years for full benefits. If you’re in your 70’s or 80’s when buying this policy, well, it won’t even fund a simple cremation and basic urn after doling our $10 a month for 1 “unit” of this life insurance plan.

This is not an affordable policy compared to the competition at all. Don’t let Colonial Penn or Jonathan Lawson tell you otherwise.

Most seniors qualify for better final expense policies — even with health conditions like:

• COPD
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Diabetes with complications
• Kidney disease (under a doctor’s care)

When you work with a reputable and seasoned independent agent, they will compare policies from dozens of top-rated carriers — often with first-day coverage and better rates. They don’t play word games either. You are quoted a rate for the amount of insurance protection you’d like have. No sneaky “unit pricing” or $9.95 bait and switch tactics.

💡 Don’t settle. Protect your family with the right policy. One that is right for your budget and two, a policy which offers your family better benefits upon your passing. Let us help you shop policies that offer:

• Full immediate coverage
• Lower premiums
• No exams and just a few health questions (important tip – this is how you get better rates)

Don’t Want to Talk About Your Health? You Still Have Better Options

While our #1 suggestion is to speak with an experienced life insurance advisor like Maple Valley Insurance Group about your situation, not everyone will follow that path.

A lot of people choose guaranteed issue life insurance for one simple reason: they just don’t want to talk to anyone about their health.

That’s understandable. Medical conversations can feel invasive, uncomfortable, or just exhausting. I get it.

But here’s the part most commercials don’t explain: guaranteed issue is always more expensive and always comes with a waiting period. There’s no way around it.

Ethos Life offers a private, automated alternative.

You don’t have to talk to an agent. You don’t explain your health to a person. You simply answer questions on an automated platform — no one listening, no one judging, no pressure.

Ethos is going to do the heavy lifting for you by examining a number of the top life insurance companies for the right product for your needs, not pigeon hole you. Seniors as a general rule should select final expense whole life. Why? Term life insurance is for people who are still working and are in good health looking to protect an income stream from employment in case the unexpected occurs. Other uses such as a mortgage protection are rather common as well. It is considerably harder to qualify for term life insurance. It is never for final expense planning – period. Note: Ethos term insurance is not for anyone over age 70.

How does it work then?

• First, Ethos attempts to qualify you for a whole life policy with full first-day coverage designed for final expense needs and senior health.
• If you don’t qualify, Ethos then offers a guaranteed issue whole life policy similiar to Colonial Penn — available for applicants ages 45–80. It just much more affordable than Colonial Penn.

Most of the permanent life options are offered with TruStage Financial formerly CUNA Mutual Insurance Company. TruStage is very well known for their senior final expense products.

Their guaranteed issue option is typically more affordable than Colonial Penn and offers an instant decision.

The difference is that Ethos doesn’t force you into the most expensive, least flexible option first. It lets technology check for something better — with guaranteed issue as the fallback.

If you’re already willing to accept a waiting period and higher costs like the Colonial Penn 995 plan, it makes sense to see if you can qualify for immediate coverage, better protection and lower cost without ever having a health conversation with an agent/advisor.

Quick Reality Check 👀

Not talking about your health doesn’t get you a better policy.

It gets you higher prices and a 2-year waiting period.

Don’t want to talk to an advisor about it?

The smarter move is using an automated system that checks — privately — whether you qualify for full first-day coverage first.

If not? Guaranteed issue is still there from the Ethos system provided by Trustage Financial. You can’t be turned down.

Which is better for you and your loved ones: full immediate coverage, or higher-cost guaranteed issue with a two-year limited benefit period?

Final Verdict

The 995 Colonial Penn plan & the marketing team with Jonathan Lawson at the helm, proudly broadcast they never ask you about your health. That is not doing you any favors and it is not a courtesy. It works against you. The less an insurance company knows about you, the more overall risk they know they are assuming. You could have good health for your age by senior standards and Colonial Penn is still going to penalize you for taking their 995 offer.

Is the Colonial Penn $9.95 plan a scam? No, but this very expensive life insurance policy puts your loved ones at risk of not receiving the full payout of the policy…all for not asking any health questions.

For 90% of consumers, it’s not a smart purchase. Your trading no health questions for a:

• Very high lifetime price, low value policy
• 2-year wait for full coverage

Folks, there are:

• Much better, more affordable, no exam whole life policies — period.

Forget about “P”, “P” and “P.” That is just marketing baloney. A lot of people feel very misled with the 9.95 plan.

If you’re age 50–85 and even have some rocky health, you likely still qualify for a better plan. Talk to a life insurance broker who works with a good dozen carriers or more. Someone who has been around the block and not stuck in some high volume call center pushing guaranteed issue life insurance. Let them help you find the right whole life policy. Not sure who to call? We’re glad to provide our expertise, phone: 269-244-3420. You and your family deserve more affordable life insurance with full 1st day coverage if possible. Find out what you prequalify for first. The most important part of owning any life insurance policy is the “black and white” on the policy pages combined with its affordability. This is especially true for seniors on a fixed income.

The name of the insurance company whether it be Colonial Penn, AARP/New York Life, Globe Life or other familiar name does not necessarily “equal” a good policy. Brand name companies often sell lower tier life insurance or no health question policies like Colonial Penn’s $9.95 life insurance policy.

You may find the best policy for you and your family may come from a carrier you never heard of before. This is not unusual. Most life insurance companies market themselves to independent life insurance brokers/advisors not life insurance consumers.

Conclusion

Reading Colonial Penn reviews is definitely a good thing to do. You’re not blindly accepting what Jonathan Lawson is pitching. The current TV commericals are a lot of puff and fluff used to market a “Plan C” policy to you. And no, it’s not $9.95/month for a $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 policy with CP at any age. You may be surprised to learn some of this today. Their just spinning a very high priced and limited plan to you as though it is in your best interest. I’d like to add a recommendation to not limit yourself to one insurance company particularly with only 1 product. There are many good life insurance companies out there but there is no best life insurance company. Colonial Penn has a good number of complaints filed against it. Far more than the norm of an insurance company its size. There are also a few reputable guaranteed issue life insurance companies for those people who do require this type of whole life insurance.

For most people, the top suggestion to finding a good and affordable final expense policy…take a few minutes and talk to an independent life insurance agent/broker like Maple Valley Insurance Group. Yes, we are tooting our own horn here. It stops days of work of searching for the right policy. Working with a seasoned, professional advisor gives you access to not only professional insight, but also all the final life insurance companies and policies in one place. Get clarity on what is right for you and your family, not the “hot air” of a television commercial.