A 72 year old woman calls Colonial Penn after seeing the commercial. She hears the price of $9.95 a month and assumes that it will cover a full funeral. It doesn’t. At her age, one unit roughly cost $700 to $900 in coverage, not the $10,000 or more most families need for a funeral.
That gap between what the ad implies and what the policy actually pays is where most of the seniors get disappointed. Before you request a quote, you need to see the real Colonial Penn life insurance rate chart by age, not just by the marketing version.
How Much Coverage Does $9.95 a Month Actually Buy?
Colonial Penn’s flagship guaranteed acceptance whole life plan does not sell coverage in flat dollar amounts. It sells “units,” and each unit costs $9.95 a month regardless of your age or gender. What changes with age is how much death benefit each unit provides.
A 50-year-old man might get around $1,600 to $1,700 in coverage per unit. A 77-year-old man might get under $500 for that same $9.95. You are not paying more as you age and you’re getting less for the identical price. Colonial Penn does not publish a single official chart with these numbers; the figures below are compiled from Colonial Penn’s own per-unit disclosures and independent insurance broker research, and they’re meant as a planning reference, not a quote.
Colonial Penn Life Insurance Rate Chart by Age (Estimated Coverage per $9.95 Unit)
Age | Male – Coverage per Unit | Female – Coverage per Unit |
50 | $1,650 | $2,000 |
55 | $1,450 | $1,750 |
60 | $1,230 | $1,500 |
65 | $900 | $1,250 |
70 | $700 | $950 |
75 | $550 | $700 |
80 | $450 | $550 |
Figures are approximate, drawn from publicly reported Colonial Penn per-unit values and rounded for readability. Your actual rate depends on state, gender, and underwriting at time of application and use Colonial Penn’s own calculator to confirm your exact number before applying.
What Does $50,000 in Colonial Penn Life Insurance Cost?
It costs far more than most people expect, and here’s why. The guaranteed acceptance $9.95 plan caps out at 15 to 25 units depending on your state, which tops out around $10,000 to $50,000 in total coverage only for younger buyers in their 50s who purchase the maximum units allowed.
For a 65 year-old man who wants $50,000 in coverage at roughly $900 per unit, he would need about 56 units and even more than double what colonial Penn generally allows on the guaranteed acceptance plan. To reach $50,000 in coverage, most of the applicants are actually moved into the colonial penn’s medically underwritten whole life product. Which uses traditional health based pricing instead of the unit system and also the premiums are set individually after writing.
The takeaway
The $9.95 ad is built around small, guaranteed-issue policies for final expenses not $50,000 in death benefit. If you need that much coverage, expect a different application process and a real health questionnaire.
Colonial Penn 995 Plan vs. Colonial Penn 9.95 Plan: Are They the Same?
Yes, 995 plan and “9.95 plan” refer to the identical product. The naming difference just comes from how people search for it online (some drop the decimal point). Both describe Colonial Penn’s guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance, sold in $9.95-per-month units, available to applicants ages 50 to 85 with no medical exam and no health questions.
The one feature every buyer needs to understand upfront is the two-year graded death benefit.If the insured person dies from natural causes within the first two years of the policy, the beneficiaries generally receive a refund of the premiums paid plus interest rather than the full death benefit. Accidental death is generally paid in full from day one. The waiting period exists because there is no medical underwriting and it is standard across nearly guaranteed acceptance policy in the industry not unique to Colonial Penn.
Real-World Example: What One Family Actually Paid
James is 68 years old. He saw the Colonial Penn commercial and called expecting simple, and affordable protection. He wanted $15,000 to cover a funeral and some final medical bills.
At his age, one unit bought him around $750 in coverage. To reach $15,000, he needed 20 units but Colonial Penn’s guaranteed acceptance plan in his state capped out at 15 units. His maximum available coverage was about $11,250, for $149.25 a month.
That’s a real monthly cost most seniors don’t see in the ad. James ultimately compared that price against a simplified-issue final expense policy from another carrier, which required answering a handful of health questions but offered the full $15,000 he needed for around $95 a month, no unit math required.
Colonial Penn Rates vs. Traditional Final Expense Insurance: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Factor | Colonial Penn $9.95 Unit Plan | Typical Simplified-Issue Final Expense Policy |
Underwriting | None (guaranteed acceptance) | A few health questions |
Coverage amounts | Limited by unit caps (often $10K–$50K max) | Usually $2,000–$50,000, flexible |
Cost per $10,000 of coverage (age 65) | $100–$115/month | $45–$70/month |
Waiting period | 2-year graded benefit | Often immediate for qualified applicants |
Best for | Those declined elsewhere, no other option | Most seniors in reasonably average health |
For seniors managing a chronic condition or a recent decline elsewhere, guaranteed acceptance can still be the right fallback. For everyone else, a couple of health questions usually unlock meaningfully lower rates for the same coverage.
Is the Colonial Penn 9.95 Plan Worth It for Seniors?
It depends entirely on why you’re buying it. If you’ve been declined by other carriers or you want the absolute simplest application with zero health questions, it can serve as a safety net. If you are in reasonably good health and you just want affordable final expense protection then you will likely find more coverage for less money through a simplified issue policy.
The National Funeral Directors Association reports that the general cost of a funeral with viewing and burial will be around $8,300, and that amount does not include a burial plot, headstone, or reception. That is the real number to plan around, not the $9.95 headline. See NFDA’s current funeral cost data before deciding how much coverage you actually need.
How to Read Any Life Insurance Rate Chart Before You Buy
- Confirm whether the number is a premium or a coverage amount because the unit-based charts like Colonial Penn’s mix both.
- Check for a graded or waiting period, which affects payout timing in the first two years.
- Compare the cost per $1,000 of coverage across carriers, not just the monthly sticker price.
- Ask whether the rate is a guaranteed level for life or subject to change.
Running these four checks takes five minutes and prevents the most common final expense insurance mistake: buying based on the advertised price instead of the actual coverage delivered.
Choosing final expense coverage shouldn’t mean doing unit math at your kitchen table. If you would rather see the actual coverage amount and the real price is side-by-side for your exact age and health then you can compare the plan with Insure Final Expense and you will get clear numbers so you can decide with confidence.
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Expert Final Expense & Life Insurance Agent
Steffanie is a licensed life insurance specialist at Insure Final Expense, focusing on final expense, burial, and senior life insurance solutions. With years of industry experience, she helps families secure affordable coverage designed to protect their loved ones from financial hardship. Her content is carefully researched, compliance-focused, and created to provide clear, trustworthy guidance so readers can make confident insurance decisions.
