Colonial Penn Life Insurance Review 2026

For decades, Colonial Penn has focused on selling life insurance to older customers, including a guaranteed issue whole life policy for people 50 and older. Though the company advertises simple plans and affordable rates, its high ratio of consumer complaints makes these policies less appealing than they appear.

Colonial Penn earned 3 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet’s ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account consumer experience, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and financial strength ratings

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Where Colonial Penn stands out

Colonial Penn doesn’t require a life insurance medical exam for any of its policies, including its traditional whole life insurance. But healthy people can generally get better prices from companies that consider more medical information when setting rates.

Where Colonial Penn falls short

Colonial Penn’s advertising may be misleading to those who aren’t familiar with its pricing structure. The insurer says throughout its website and in commercials that premiums can be locked in for as little as $9.95 a month, but this price earns you one of the insurer's "units," which is very little coverage.

Guaranteed acceptance life insurance. This type of whole life policy is typically open to people ages 50 to 85 (age eligibility varies by state), and acceptance is guaranteed. Applicants don’t need to answer health questions or take a medical exam. The policy has a waiting period, which means the full life insurance death benefit won’t be paid out if the insured person dies during the first two years of taking out a policy. This is fairly standard for this kind of coverage.

Traditional whole life insurance. In New York, Colonial Penn offers whole life insurance to men ages 50 to 73 and women ages 50 to 75. Coverage amounts range from $5,000 to $25,000. The application asks health questions, but the insurer doesn’t require a medical exam.

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Colonial Penn sells its guaranteed acceptance coverage in “units,” and the amount of coverage this gets you varies by gender and age. Each unit costs $9.95 and you can buy up to 25 units. The sum you end up with is the total amount of money that will be paid out to your beneficiaries when you die. In other words, the coverage amount is locked in and doesn't go up or down over time.

Colonial Penn's pricing structure is unique. It's important to calculate how much life insurance you need and aim to buy the number of units to match so you don't end up underinsured.

This table explains what one unit of coverage is worth for male and female applicants ages 50 to 85. This amount of coverage would cost $9.95 per month.

Here is the maximum amount of coverage you can buy at each age. This amount of coverage would cost slightly less than $250 a month.

A strong sign of consumer satisfaction is how many people complain about their insurance company to state agencies. Over three years, Colonial Penn has drawn far more than the expected number of complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, according to a NerdWallet analysis of data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

• What Reddit users say about Colonial Penn

  Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like life insurance, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about insurers. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

  Reddit sentiment is generally negative in regards to Colonial Penn. Complaints focus on the company’s policies being a poor value due to high rates and low coverage amounts. Some Reddit users even went so far as to categorize Colonial Penn’s marketing practices as predatory towards seniors.

  Reddit users who weighed in on Colonial Penn advised seeking out other companies for guaranteed issue policies and to think of the insurer's offerings as a last resort for final expenses.

How Colonial Penn’s customer experience stacks up

Colonial Penn’s website makes it easy to start an application and find details about the company’s guaranteed acceptance policies. There’s a phone number in the top right corner of each page.

We called Colonial Penn twice, and each time we were connected with a representative within two minutes. Both agents accurately told us that Colonial Penn doesn’t offer term life insurance, but we got conflicting answers when we asked about what’s required to activate an accelerated death benefit rider. One representative told us the company doesn’t offer this rider, while the other said you had to make a payment on the policy and then the rider would be activated if available.

The company doesn’t have a mobile app. And while Colonial Penn does offer online quotes, you can’t file a life insurance claim or change beneficiaries online.

What it’s like to apply for a policy with Colonial Penn

You can get a quote for guaranteed issue life insurance right from Colonial Penn’s homepage. The first page of the application asks for basic information like your name, address, gender, phone number and email address. Note that by submitting this page of the application, you’re consenting to have the company send you email, texts and postal mail — even if you don’t end up buying a policy.

Colonial Penn says once you choose your coverage amount and complete your application, you’ll be approved for a policy within a few minutes.

Screenshot captured by our editorial team on October 24, 2025.

The Philadelphia-based insurer is owned by CNO Financial Group, which is also the parent company of Bankers Life.

Colonial Penn can be reached by:

• Phone: Call 877-877-8052 Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. New York policyholders should call 877-891-0915 during the same hours.

• Email: No customer service email available.

• Live chat: Not available.