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finder.com's rating: 2 / 5 ★★★★★
Bottom line: You won’t need to take a medical exam with Colonial Penn, though you also can’t get more than $50,000 coverage.
18 to 85
Issue Age
$10,000 to $50,000
Coverage
No
Medical Exam Required
Policies | Renewable Term, Guaranteed Acceptance, Permanent Whole. |
---|---|
Coverage maximum | $50,000 |
Term lengths | 5 year banded term – up to age 90 |
Medical exam required | No |
Available states |
Term insurance is available in all states except Montana, New York, and the Virgin Islands.
Whole life insurance is available in all states except New York and the Virgin Islands. |
Issue age | 18-75 |
Riders |
Accelerated death benefit rider Accidental death benefit rider |
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Review by
Rhys Subitch is a writer and editor at Finder who tackles topics across the site. With half a decade of experience researching, editing and writing for a Fortune 500 company, university and several independent publications, Rhys brings readers the most up-to-date and curated info on all things finance.
Colonial Penn offers three basic life insurance options that work well if you need low, guaranteed coverage or short terms. It also offers four payment plans, giving you some budgeting flexibility.
However, the maximum $50,000 whole or term life coverage is much less than you’ll find with other companies that require medical exams.
The company also sees an above-average number of complaints. If you try a Colonial Penn policy, you have 30 days to cancel for a full refund. But if you’re looking to maximize coverage value, compare your options to be sure it’s the right fit.
Expect to pay a high cost of around $57 a month for a $50,000 term life policy from Colonial Penn, depending on factors like your age, gender and health.
Age | Man | Woman |
---|---|---|
20 | $13.96 | $11.87 |
25 | $18.96 | $14.12 |
30 | $23.96 | $19.12 |
35 | $28.92 | $24.12 |
40 | $35.21 | $29.12 |
45 | $45.12 | $35.21 |
50 | $56.46 | $45.21 |
55 | $76.46 | $56.46 |
60 | $99.79 | $71.46 |
65 | $140.12 | $98.83 |
70 | $191.53 | $128.29 |
You won’t find full guides on Colonial Penn’s website about how to get the lowest premiums, but most insurers look for common traits like:
You can contact Colonial Penn by phone at 877-877-8052, or follow these steps for a quote online:
Colonial Penn offers a few term and whole life policies that specialize in low coverage without medical exams:
The coverage details and price ranges for Colonial Penn’s life insurance plans:
Plan | Coverage | Medical exam | Age availability | Protection until | Rate increase | Monthly premiums | Disclaimers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guaranteed acceptance life | Up to $25,000 | None | 50 to 85 years old in most states | For life | No | $9.95–$79.60 | You won’t be denied a policy, but the first two years offer limited coverage |
Renewable term life | $10,000–$50,000 | None | 18 to 75 years old | 90 years old | Yes, based on fixed 5-year age bands | $2.54–$800.80 | Guaranteed ability to convert to permanent life insurance at age 90 |
Whole life | $10,000–$50,000 | None | 40 to 75 years old | For life | No | $14.36–$576.44 | Cash value builds after the first year |
Yes. Colonial Penn’s guaranteed acceptance policy functions as burial insurance. As typical, this policy is marketed to seniors ages 50 to 85 with no medical exam needed — and capped with low coverage levels.
If you die of natural causes in the first two years, your beneficiaries’ payout will equal your premiums paid plus interest compounded annually. After this period, the insurer will pay the full death benefit.
While most insurers offer add-ons like child or disability coverage, Colonial Penn only offers two riders. Coverage may be limited by state, age and gender.
Founded in 1968, the company has over 50 years of financial history, signaling its likely ability to pay claims. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) gave Colonial Penn an A+ rating as of October 2020. The company closed nearly 90 complaints from 2017 to 2020, not terrible for the company’s size.
Colonial Penn also received a complaint index ratio of 1.31 in 2019 from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), close to the national median of 1.00. The complaint index rates companies based on their number of complaints compared to premiums written.
The BBB complaints and other online reviews note pushy salespeople encouraging customers to buy more insurance than they want, lost policies after years of payments, denials for the guaranteed acceptance policy and frequent robocalls.
Colonial Penn’s parent company, CNO Financial Group, and its subsidiaries received a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) from AM Best, showing its ability to pay death benefits.
AM Best financial rating |
A- |
BBB accredited | Yes |
BBB rating | A+ 1/5 out of 7 customer reviews |
Customer reviews verified as of | 19 January 2021 |
Colonial Penn specializes in no-exam policies such as its term life policy that renews every five years or guaranteed-approval whole life policy. You can’t find these options everywhere.
However, you can find much higher coverage and more policies with other companies, so Colonial Penn works best if you’re looking for a no-exam policy. Its policies vary widely in cost, based on your age and health.
For example, a healthy, 30-year-old man typically pays $17 a month for a $250,000, 20-year term policy. While Colonial Penn’s term life policy starts with low rates, its cost can increase to several hundred dollars as you age — a rate not worth the coverage it offers.
Wondering how Colonial Penn fares against other companies? Tick the Compare box to see features for up to four companies side by side.
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
Our experts analyze life insurance companies to help you to find the strongest possible policy and premium for your family’s needs. We assess their financial strength, customer satisfaction, policy features and riders. We then give each insurer a score between one and five stars that reflects their offering and reputation in the industry. Colonial Penn gets two out of five stars for a higher than the average number of complaints, and fewer customization options than many of its competitors.