The Colonial Penn 9.95 plan is guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance, a form of final expense insurance also called burial or funeral insurance, where $9.95 buys one “unit” of coverage per month. How much a unit covers depends on your age and gender, so older buyers get less coverage for the same price.
What is the Colonial Penn 9.95 plan, exactly?
The Colonial Penn 9.95 plan is the company’s guaranteed acceptance whole life policy, sold in units that each cost $9.95 a month. It is a small whole life product — the same one sold as final expense, burial, or funeral insurance — built to cover end-of-life costs like a funeral, cremation, or unpaid bills. Because it is guaranteed acceptance, also called guaranteed issue, coverage, it skips health questions entirely: no medical exam, no history to disclose. For the full breakdown of pricing, the waiting period, and who it fits, see our independent Colonial Penn review.
How does unit pricing work, and why does coverage shrink with age?
Here is the part the TV ads gloss over. You do not buy a dollar amount of coverage — you buy units. One unit locks in a $9.95 monthly premium. But the death benefit that one unit pays out is not fixed: it is set by your age and gender on the day you apply. A younger applicant gets more coverage per unit; an older applicant gets less for the same $9.95. So two people can pay the exact same premium and walk away with very different coverage.
- $9.95 equals one unit, and one unit locks in that $9.95 monthly premium.
- The coverage one unit pays out depends on your age and gender when you apply.
- The older you are at purchase, the fewer dollars of death benefit each unit covers.
- Want more coverage? You add units, and each added unit adds $9.95 to your monthly bill.
What does one unit of coverage actually buy?
Same price, different payout. The table below shows the pattern: the $9.95 never changes, but the coverage each unit buys falls as you get older.
| Age when you buy | Monthly cost of one unit | Coverage one unit pays out |
|---|---|---|
| Early 50s | $9.95 | Ask the carrier in writing |
| Mid 60s | $9.95 | Ask the carrier in writing |
| Mid 70s | $9.95 | Ask the carrier in writing |
A single unit’s payout may not stretch far. The national median funeral runs $8,300 with a viewing and burial, or $6,280 with cremation (NFDA 2023 General Price List Study), and Social Security pays a family only a $255 one-time death payment (SSA). Before you decide how many units you need, look at what a funeral actually costs today.
Does the Colonial Penn 9.95 plan have a waiting period?
Yes. Like most guaranteed acceptance policies, it comes with a two-year graded death benefit. Full coverage begins after you have held the policy for two years. If death from natural causes happens during those first two years, the policy does not pay out the full face amount — instead it returns the premiums you paid, plus interest. Death from a covered accident is generally paid in full from day one.
Is the 9.95 plan a good deal, or should you compare first?
It depends entirely on your health. Guaranteed acceptance makes sense when health problems would get you declined elsewhere — the plan skips every health question, so acceptance is certain within the 50 to 85 age range. But that certainty costs money: if you can answer a few health questions and pass, a simplified-issue final expense policy often covers more per dollar and may skip the two-year wait.
| Feature | Colonial Penn 9.95 plan | Typical simplified-issue final expense |
|---|---|---|
| Health questions | Skips them entirely | A few yes/no questions |
| How coverage is sold | In $9.95 units | As a fixed face amount you choose |
| Waiting period | Two-year graded death benefit | Often full coverage from day one if you qualify |
| Best fit | Can’t pass health questions | Fair-to-good health |
That is why comparing matters. An independent broker compares several carriers side by side so you are not judging one TV offer in a vacuum. Before you commit to the 9.95 plan:
- Ask exactly how much coverage one unit pays out at your age, and get the dollar figure in writing.
- Total up the units you would need to reach your target, then multiply by $9.95 to see the real monthly cost.
- Get at least one simplified-issue quote so you can compare coverage per dollar.
- Check whether you can skip the two-year waiting period by answering a few health questions with another carrier.
The $9.95 price tag is real, but it is a starting unit, not a coverage amount. Before you lock anything in, get the full picture of what those units buy at your age and how the two-year wait works in our independent Colonial Penn review.