They now feature Colonial Penn sales manager Jonathan Lawson as the pitchman in their commercials. It does not buy very much life insurance protection, period. We frequently replace guaranteed acceptance policies with better benefits and lower cost policies. 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. It is fair to suggest he probably has been well paid over the years so his resources and his financial situation is likely different than most people on a fixed and or limited income. Find out what is really available to you. If you want to be proactive and have a preapproved offer from the best carrier fill out this form by CLICKING HERE. We will go over why. OK92033) Property & Casualty Licenses, NerdWallet | 55 Hawthorne St. - 11th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. The older you are on the date of purchase, the less that $9.95 per month will buy in real financial protection for your loved ones. What you need to remember about the Guaranteed Acceptance program: it is for high risk life insurance applicants. They sell you what they are marketing. Once you are a policyholder, you can make premium payments online, but youll need to download a form to file a, Find the right life insurance plan for you. Colonial Penn life insurance products that Jonathan Lawson promotes seniors will not receive benefits for the first two years. NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. Colonial Penn sells coverage in units, and you can buy up to 15 units. After a few minutes on the phone, they find out they can easily qualify for a premium policy for a much lower premium than Colonial Penn. A lot of people, young to old have seen the Alex Trebek life insurance commercial. That sounds pretty good right? While that all sounds nice, it is important to note that Mr. Trebek was not a life insurance expert, but a paid spokesman for Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company. So a 75 year old is going to be penalized regardless of good health versus a 65 year old who may have congestive heart failure and lung cancer. January 03, 2018. In addition, if you are in good health the coverage is limited and the premiums are too high. But healthy people can generally get better prices from companies that consider more medical information when setting rates. One unit does not buy enough insurance to scratch the cost of a cremation let alone a full funeral. For those who purchase the coverageColonial Penn will pay the claims according to the terms of the policy. Most of them are from overcharging customers accounts, not sending the right death benefit to the grieving family because of the wrong unit, and just incompetent customer service. For life insurance, NerdWallet typically recommends considering insurers with ratings of A- or higher. Medically underwritten, no exam whole life is superior protection for your family, is more affordable and does not have the limitations written into the whole life policy. It was a huge Colonial Penn marketing expense. 50. As we get into this article, I will explain the limited use of Guaranteed Acceptance life insurance and why it should be avoided if possible. With that said, do you believe he knows that much more about your life insurance needs versus the person down the street? They pay their spokesmen a pretty penny to advocate how good their coverage is. Here is an example of Colonial Penn insurance coverage, To file a complaint you can contact the BBB CLICK HERE. Remember that Colonial Penn's rates are determined by "units". He was not carrying a life insurance license nor taking ongoing education requirements and training to advise people on life insurance. No one pays just $9.95 a month to protect their family. Guaranteed acceptance/guaranteed issue whole life is the life insurance product to select after all other no exam, simplified issue whole products have been evaluated with an experienced independent agent or broker. At The Tennessean, she was part of a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist team for coverage of devastating floods in Middle Tennessee. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. The 10-15% remaining still have more affordable options than Colonial Penn guaranteed acceptance insurance. The intention is to get you to call up Colonial Penn and just buy the policy. Does Colonial Penn life insurance accept all seniors on this 995 plan? All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. One unit costs $9.95. Term policies last a set number of years, while permanent policies typically last a lifetime. The Alex Trebek commercial for life insurance comes in at $9.95 per unit. We are often working with people in less than ideal health. Let's compare Colonial Penn 9.95 coverage to the same amount but with Mutual of Omaha. It helps them make a lot more money because you are lumped in with a large number individuals who are very high risk. Every week I take phone calls from people calling to price out final expense life insurance. Colonial Life costs can be expensive compared to other insurance companies' rates. What is the value of overpaying for less benefits? The company's accelerated death benefit rider is also unusual. This policy is open to people ages 50 to 85 (50 to 75 in New York), and acceptance is guaranteed. About the author: Andrew Marder is a NerdWallet authority on insurance. Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. Sure Im bit biased myself because I have access to all the top burial insurance companies and plans out there. Lisa Green leads the life insurance team and oversees insurance-focused data journalism at NerdWallet. These situations do require guaranteed issue life insurance. Several different life insurance companies offer it. You will see this illustrated later in this article. This could be devastating for your family if you buy the wrong policy. It could cost you, the consumer and your family dearly. Look at the number of consumer complaints each company receives, as high numbers can be a red flag about the quality of service. Aah, here is the problem with Colonial Penn units. $9.95 sounds quite enticing but. Calling Colonial Penn or any other carrier directly versus an independent agent or broker works against you. Every week we have people who think they cant qualify for the best benefits and lower premiums. Take a break, see what our clients are saying about us, Or Call Lisa and danny 855-380-3300 where final expense insurance is done differently. Your loved ones could end up in a financial mess because of the 2 year limitation on coverage for natural death. The Colonial Penn commercials have had a certain magic about them that washes away the reality of their guaranteed acceptance 995 life insurance plan. Our partners compensate us. Remember, you are paying for permanent, lifelong coverage with the $9.95 life insurance product. This is what protects their family. Permanent life insurance typically lasts a lifetime and builds cash value that can be borrowed against in the future. For example, a 75-year old male would get about $560 in coverage with one single unit at their current age. Do not sell or share my personal information. So he is 42 years of age. That is a very, very small policy if you are planning for final expenses. This Colonial Penn product is not benefit rich nor priced well. Over more than a decade, he's worked in everything from banks to tech startups. The minimum value of a unit of coverage is approximately $400 and the maximum is approximately $2,100, meaning the maximum death benefit you can select is around $16,800. The unit system used in this Colonial Penn 995 plan penalizes seniors particularly in their 70s and 80s. Consumers need to proceed with caution with this particular type of life insurance product. No-exam policies dont require a medical exam. Compare Alex Trebek life insurance rates by selecting Poor under the health classification menu. Since the Alex Trebek advertisement focuses on the $9.95 guaranteed acceptance product with no health questions, we are presenting all the facts here so you understand the limitations of this product. Any questions you have, feel free to give us a call at 269-244-3420. With all whole life insurance, rate locks for your lifetime are a standard feature. The amount of life insurance you can get from Colonial Penn for $9.95 a month depends on your age and gender. Whole life insurance. Lots of upset families that did not know or understand the Alex Trebek $9.95 life insurance offering has significant limitations built in. So how do we make money? When evaluating offers, please review the financial institutions Terms and Conditions. Because all life insurance companies have different health questions. The Colonial Penn guaranteed acceptance $995 plan has a two-year waiting period. However, the truth, this life insurance advertisment markets a particular type of whole life insurance with carefully, glossed over limitations and very high real world premiums. I can tell you that in the late 90s, the average, burial policy I sold was about $7000. Yes, all the plans quoted here are designed for those in less than perfect health and require no medical exam. You want $10,000 of coverage to take care of your funeral expenses. Simply multiply $9.95 times the number of units you're interested in. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion directly. He has been advocating Colonial Penn life insurance as the best plan and best policy for years now. So clearly not the best plan for the grandparents. In addition to her work at NerdWallet, Lisa is a real estate investor and has taught a seminar on how to earn college scholarships. Applicants dont need to answer health questions or take a medical exam. If you want to leave a significant death benefit for your loved ones, $9.95 per month isnt going to help out very much. Be sure to review the rate chart above and see the maximum amount of financial protection that can be bought at your current age with CP. Ultimately, the cost of your life insurance will depend on your age, gender and the amount of coverage . When you buy life insurance you want to be with an insurance company that gives you immediate coverage and a level death benefit. The 30 day money back guarantee, well that comes from the department of insurance in each state. In the past 30 days, commercials featuring Alex Trebek have had 78,296 airings. Misunderstanding life insurance policy limitations and features combined with the overall costs of ownership are the common mistakes of consumers. Coverage was once $6.95 per unit. This is permanent, whole life insurance that will never go up in cost nor down in death benefits. You may have to answer a few health questions, but you will not be limited on how much coverage you need in a ridiculous unit plan system. Colonial Penn Life Insurance offers 2 different whole life policies. This is not a good way to be transparent about the cost of buying a policy either. According to average statistics, the annual salary for a game show host in the United States is about $32,196 a year, with a high of $86,780. for its policies, including its traditional whole life insurance. She has also studied data journalism with the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, business editing with the American Press Institute and writing, editing and news research with the Poynter Institute. NerdWallet conducts its data analysis and reaches conclusions independently and without the endorsement of the NAIC. Is it really a good policy or not? This is variable and VERY important to understand. There is no reason not to utilize a professional independent agent. It is written in the policy they mail you once your purchase coverage. He was in the USA marine corps for 14 years and served in combat and as a master instructor. If you have decent to excellent health as a senior, they really love you!! At 65, the policy value of each $9.95 unit is much higher which translates into more death benefits than the than the healthy individual. No-exam policies dont require a medical exam. Most folks are able to obtain much, much lower cost for whole life insurance with full protection from day 1. The most you can get is $2,000 if you are a 50-year-old woman. So What Is The Alex Trebek Life Insurance Commerical About? The Alex Trebek life insurance ad has lots of gimmicks that are easy to fall for. Does Colonial Penn pay out? Colonial Penn knows by statistics what they must bill you for your policy when you buy. Watch out for other high priced guaranteed issue whole life plans. It is not responsible of a life insurance company to recommend products built for generally poor health applicants and market it like it is the affordable final expense solution for seniors. Colonial Penn is not that type of life insurance company. Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance from $9.95 month. MORE: Guaranteed issue life insurance: Is it worth it? Calculate. Coverage maximum amounts are limited to $50,000 for the term and whole life plan. Colonial Penn TV Commercial: "Call Sooner" In this commercial, the latest Colonial Penn actor, Jonathan Lawson, makes the pitch. As you'll see in our in-depth review of Colonial Penn's $9.95 plan, life insurance from Colonial Penn is not nearly as cheap as it sounds. This is very similar to the advertising practices from Globe and Life Insurance Savings Group! The ads you see to buy Colonial Penn, Globe Life or AARP/New York Life etc, are rarely in your best interest. For a person who is in a high risk situation, while expensive compared to the more competitive companies, it may be a solution. In addition, if you are healthy do you deserve a two-year waiting period? We recommend a goal of at least $15,000 to cover full funeral and burial costs for 2023. So, here is the problem. Definitely room for raises. Colonial Penn sells units of coverage; the unit premium never changes, and they sell between one and eight units. It is simply a high risk life insurance policy. Here are some typical health questions on a no exam application, for full, first day coverage. A key point to remember, Alex Trebek, who had the respect of many people, was also a well compensated endorser of the Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company. Alex Trebek coverage is not a better policy than any other guaranteed acceptance policy from another company. Once you have purchased a guaranteed acceptance whole life policy, the price will not go up and the benefits will not decrease. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. It is important you understand this clearly before ever purchasing any guaranteed issue life insurance. Ed McMahon used to advertise $6.95 per unit for Colonial Penns Guaranteed Acceptance plan. Better than having no life insurance protection at all. But healthy people can generally get better prices from companies that consider more medical information when setting rates. Thats a great question, there is no information online that confirms or denies whether Jonathan Lawson is married. No portion of InsuranceForBurial.com may be copied, published, or distributed in any manner for any purpose without the prior written authorization of the owner. They were all paid endorsers. Regardless of age, the maximum number or units you can buy is 15. If you have not already, run a quote on the final expense quote tool on this page. Do you assume you cannot qualify for a better policy because your health isnt ideal? With premiums being higher than the top carriers and having to wait two years for a policy pays out, do you really think its a good deal? unless your quite close to age 50 particularly for men, the protection is not cheap and the amount of coverage you get for your monthly premium is low. Were always here to help. 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