- Low starting prices
- No health questions or exam
- Seniors up to age 85 can buy a new policy
- The $9.95 plan has a 2-year waiting period
- Very expensive life insurance relative to other providers
- Incredibly disingenuous advertisements that mislead seniors
AM Best’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) is an independent opinion of an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations. The scores range from A++ to D-.
Moody’s Investors Service rates the creditworthiness of companies. The Moody’s Rating Scale has 21 possible scores ranging from “Aaa” (highest mark) down to “C” (lowest mark).
S&P Global Inc. issues credit ratings on a scale from “AAA” (highest rating) to “D” (lowest rating).
The Complaint Index compares a company’s performance to other companies in the market. The National Complaint Index is always 1.00. That means a company with a complaint index of 2.00 is twice as high as expected in the market. Reported scores are for the most recently available year and for “Individual Life” products.
The BBB rating is based on information BBB is able to obtain about the business, including complaints received from the public. BBB seeks and uses information directly from businesses and from public data sources. BBB assigns ratings from A+ (highest) to F (lowest). If a business has been accredited by the BBB, it means BBB has determined that the business meets accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints.
Who Is Jonathan Lawson Of Colonial Penn?
Jonathan Lawson is a Colonial Penn employee who appears in TV commercials promoting the guaranteed acceptance $9.95 plan for seniors. He is not just a paid endorser like Alex Trebek was.
His LinkedIn profile shows his official title is “Director of Quality Assurance & Escalations.” After graduating high school at 18, he went to Peirce College, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), and now works for Colonial Penn. He also served in the Marine Corps for 14 years as Master Instructor.
How Does The Johnathan Lawson $9.95 Plan Work?
The $9.95 plan Jonathan Lawson promotes is a guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance policy that does not require you to answer health questions.
Regardless of your medical history, you cannot be denied.
Since it’s a whole life final expense policy, the premiums will never increase, and the policy won’t expire due to age.
Additionally, the coverage won’t decrease in value, and it will build cash value.
Because the $995 plan has no health questions, there is a two-year waiting period. If you die during the first 24 months, your beneficiaries will only receive a refund of the premiums and a small interest amount.
From a cost perspective, the $9.95 plan sounds very affordable on the surface. But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details.
The truth is that $9.95 only buys a senior $418-$2,000 in coverage, depending on your age and gender. For example, a 70-year-old male would only have $689 of life insurance for $9.95.
Coverage Sold By The “Unit”
Colonial Penn sells its senior funeral insurance by the unit instead of by coverage amounts such as $5,000, $10,000, or $25,000.
A unit of coverage corresponds to how much life insurance a person gets, which is determined by age and gender.
Regardless of your gender or age, everyone still only pays $9.95 per month. What you must consider is how much coverage each unit provides.
Once you look at a Colonial Penn rate chart, you quickly realize that Colonial Penn’s guaranteed acceptance plan is very costly relative to other life insurance companies.
For example, a 53-year-old male only gets $1,515 in coverage for that $9.95 monthly.
The older you are, the less coverage that a single unit provides.
Below is a chart and calculator that outlines exactly how much coverage each unit provides.
| AGE | 1 Male Unit ($9.95) | 1 Female Unit ($9.95) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | $1,669 in coverage | $2,000 in coverage |
| 51 | $1,620 in coverage | $1,942 in coverage |
| 52 | $1,565 in coverage | $1,890 in coverage |
| 53 | $1,515 in coverage | $1,845 in coverage |
| 54 | $1,460 in coverage | $1,802 in coverage |
| 55 | $1,420 in coverage | $1,761 in coverage |
| 56 | $1,370 in coverage | $1,719 in coverage |
| 57 | $1,313 in coverage | $1,669 in coverage |
| 58 | $1,258 in coverage | $1,620 in coverage |
| 59 | $1,200 in coverage | $1,565 in coverage |
| 60 | $1,167 in coverage | $1,515 in coverage |
| 61 | $1,112 in coverage | $1,460 in coverage |
| 62 | $1,057 in coverage | $1,420 in coverage |
| 63 | $1,000 in coverage | $1,370 in coverage |
| 64 | $949 in coverage | $1,313 in coverage |
| 65 | $896 in coverage | $1,258 in coverage |
| 66 | $846 in coverage | $1,200 in coverage |
| 67 | $802 in coverage | $1,167 in coverage |
| 68 | $762 in coverage | $1,112 in coverage |
| 69 | $724 in coverage | $1,057 in coverage |
| 70 | $689 in coverage | $1,000 in coverage |
| 71 | $657 in coverage | $949 in coverage |
| 72 | $627 in coverage | $896 in coverage |
| 73 | $608 in coverage | $846 in coverage |
| 74 | $578 in coverage | $802 in coverage |
| 75 | $549 in coverage | $762 in coverage |
| 76 | $521 in coverage | $724 in coverage |
| 77 | $493 in coverage | $689 in coverage |
| 78 | $468 in coverage | $657 in coverage |
| 79 | $441 in coverage | $627 in coverage |
| 80 | $426 in coverage | $608 in coverage |
| 81 | $424 in coverage | $578 in coverage |
| 82 | $423 in coverage | $549 in coverage |
| 83 | $421 in coverage | $521 in coverage |
| 84 | $420 in coverage | $493 in coverage |
| 85 | $418 in coverage | $468 in coverage |
| Source: www.colonialpenn.com. Data retrieved on 5/27/2024. | ||
Should You Buy Colonial Penn Coverage That Jonathan Lawson Promotes?
Despite Jonathan’s claims about how good Colonial Penn life insurance is, no senior citizen should buy the 995 plan. The $9.95 plan is far more expensive than many other insurance providers, and there’s a waiting period (for everyone).
With multiple other companies, you can secure coverage that costs significantly less and likely has no waiting period. That’s true even if you want final expense insurance with pre-existing conditions.
For example, a 65-year-old male would get a life insurance benefit of only $896 from one 995 unit. To get roughly $10,000 in whole life coverage, he would need to buy 12 units, costing $119.40 monthly ($9.95 x 12).
That same 65-year-old man would pay only $56.48 monthly with Mutual of Omaha for a $10,000 policy. Also, the Living Promise policy from Mutual of Omaha has no waiting period.
Use our insurance quotes tool to compare Colonial Penn’s coverage to other insurance products in your state, and you will see how much more coverage you can get from other insurance companies.
Ultimately, when you analyze all the pros and cons of Colonial Penn life insurance, they are not a good buy.
How To Find The Best Final Expense Insurance Policy
Don’t let TV spokesmen like Jonathan Lawson persuade you to buy overpriced burial insurance.
Instead, give your money to a company that offers quality coverage at a fair price.
When trying to buy life insurance, you have two choices:
- Buy directly from an insurance company (Example: Globe Life).
- Buy through a licensed agency that represents one or more insurers.
First, when you try to buy directly from a carrier, you limit yourself to only what they offer. State Farm is one such example.
If you ever buy from a State Farm agent, they cannot and will not suggest coverage from another provider. You’re out of luck if you aren’t pleased with their offering.
However, if you work with an agency, the opposite is true.
Independent agencies (aka “brokers”) partner with multiple life insurance companies, so they have the freedom to shop around for their clients.
To find the best final expense life insurance policy, the best thing to do is to work with an independent agency that can compare multiple providers on your behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Jonathan Lawson does work for Colonial Penn. He is an employee of CNO Financial Group, the parent company that owns Colonial Penn. His official title is “Director of Quality Assurance & Escalations.” He’s also tasked with appearing in their TV commercials and online advertisements.
Jonathan Lawson is a Colonial Penn employee who is paid to act in the Colonial Penn commercials. His predecessor, Alex Trebek, was not a Colonial Penn employee. Instead, Alex was just an actor paid to endorse the company.
Jonathan Lawson’s salary is unknown. He works for Colonial Penn, which compensates him for appearing in its commercials. However, precisely how much he gets paid is unknown.
Jonathan Lawson’s net worth is unknown. Although some websites refer to his net worth, their claims are unfounded and not backed by legitimate sources.
Choice Mutual often cites third-party websites to provide context and verification for specific claims made in our work. We only link to authoritative websites that provide accurate information. You can learn more about our editorial standards, which guide our mission of delivering factual and impartial content.
- LinkedIn profile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-lawson-990a2a75/
- $9.95 plan. https://colonialpenn.com/products/guaranteedacceptance
- Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company. https://colonialpenn.com/our-company
- CNO Financial Group. https://ir.cnoinc.com/financials/financial-ratings/
- A.M. Best. https://ratings.ambest.com/DisclosurePDF.aspx?AMBNum=6240
- BBB. https://www.bbb.org/us/pa/philadelphia/profile/insurance-companies/colonial-penn-life-insurance-company-0241-80001800
- Trustpilot. https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.colonialpenn.com
- Google. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Colonial+Penn+Life+Insurance+Company/@39.9506348,-75.1516416,16z/data=!3m1!5s0x89c6c88446e79631:0xedc6cdcc6712c19c!4m8!3m7!1s0x89c6c8844712c7c7:0x36df3df4d2e9e0b5!8m2!3d39.9506308!4d-75.1467707!9m1!1b1!16s%2Fg%2F1tgw5_2_?entry=ttu
- Yelp. https://www.yelp.com/biz/colonial-penn-insurance-philadelphia
- Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ColonialPennLifeInsuranceCompany/
- NAIC Complaint Index. https://content.naic.org/cis_refined_results.htm?TABLEAU=CIS_COMPLAINTS&COCODE=62065&REALM=PROD&COCODE=62065&REALM=PROD
- BBB Score & Accreditation. https://www.bbb.org/us/pa/philadelphia/profile/insurance-companies/colonial-penn-life-insurance-company-0241-80001800
- www.colonialpenn.com. https://colonialpenn.com/quote
