Colonial Penn burial insurance
Colonial Penn is the most heavily advertised name in this market, and its advertising is built around a price rather than an amount of coverage. That distinction is the whole review.
Rating read from AM Best on 2 September 2026. AM Best calls A excellent: a strong ability to meet obligations to policyholders. How we check ratings.
The verdict
The famous $9.95 a month is a price, not a benefit. It buys one unit of coverage, and how much death benefit a unit is worth depends on your age and sex, falling sharply as you get older. For most people over sixty who can answer health questions, an underwritten policy elsewhere buys several times as much cover for the same money.
We do not represent Colonial Penn
This is an editorial review. We hold no appointment here and earn nothing if you buy one, which is exactly why we can be straight about it. The carriers we can actually write are listed here.
What is good and what is not
In its favour
- Guaranteed acceptance in the age band, no health questions
- Very familiar brand from decades of television advertising
- A rated
Against it
- Unit pricing obscures how little coverage you are actually buying
- Two year waiting period on natural death, as every guaranteed acceptance product has
- Substantially more expensive per dollar of coverage than an underwritten policy
- Often bought by people who would easily have passed health questions elsewhere
How it treats your health
The advertised product asks no health questions, which is why it accepts everyone and why it waits two years. That structure is genuinely useful to someone in active treatment for a serious illness. It is a poor deal for anyone healthy enough to answer questions.
What it actually sells
Guaranteed acceptance whole life sold in units, plus other life products, through Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company.
The waiting period
Two years on natural death. Die of natural causes inside that window and the policy returns the premiums paid plus interest rather than the death benefit. Accidental death is covered from day one.
This is the single most misunderstood thing in this market, and it is where most people get sold the wrong policy. Our full explanation is in burial insurance with no waiting period.
What moves the price
Age and sex decide how much death benefit one unit buys. The unit price is fixed, so the older you are at application the less cover the same money buys.
Why there is no price on this page
We hold no rate tables, so any premium printed here would be invented. On a licensed site that is a compliance problem rather than a helpful touch. The honest number comes from running your age, state, health answers and coverage amount against the 25+ companies the agency can write, which takes a few minutes.
See what Colonial Penn would actually cost you
Six questions, about a minute. We run them across every company we can write, including this one where possible, and come back with real prices. A typical burial runs $15,395 once the cemetery is included, so that is the number worth covering.
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Questions people ask about Colonial Penn
How much coverage is $9.95 a month with Colonial Penn?
It buys one unit, and a unit is worth different amounts at different ages and for men and women. For an applicant in their seventies it is typically a few hundred dollars of death benefit, nowhere near the cost of a funeral. Ask for the benefit amount in dollars before you buy, not the monthly price.
Does Colonial Penn have a waiting period?
Yes, two years on natural death, which is standard for any policy that asks no health questions.
Compare it against the rest
One carrier is never the answer for everybody, because they disagree about health. The full scorecard shows every company we can write, with the verified AM Best grade and the date we read it.