Colonial Penn

Last updated
Colonial Penn
Life Insurance Company
FormerlyColonial Penn Life Insurance Company (1968–1998)
Conseco Direct Life (1998–2001)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Finance and Insurance
Founded1968;56 years ago (1968)
Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Key people
Leonard Davis (founder)
Products Insurance
Parent CNO Financial Group (1997–present)
Website www.colonialpenn.com

The Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company (often known as simply Colonial Penn) is an American life insurance company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded by philanthropist and AARP co-founder Leonard Davis, owned by CNO Financial Group. Colonial Penn, which began as an insurance provider through AARP focused on people over 65, [1] now has a marketing campaign that is aimed at people between the age of 50 and 85, specializing in “guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance“ and to help their families cover funeral costs after the individual dies. The company's name comes from the state it was founded (Pennsylvania), which was part of colonial America, hence the name “Colonial Penn”.

Contents

History

Utility holding company FPL Group acquired Colonial Penn in 1985. [2] FPL sold Colonial Penn to Leucadia National in 1991. [3] [4]

Conseco bought Colonial Penn from Leucadia in 1997, [5] and in 1998 renamed it Conseco Direct Life to reflect Conseco ownership. [6] In 2001, Conseco reverted to the Colonial Penn name, which remains a subsidiary of the renamed CNO Financial Group with Bankers Life and the Washington National Insurance Company. [7]

Advertising

Colonial Penn is often known for its television commercials that target viewers aged 50 and over. The commercials have frequently aired during The Price Is Right , World News Now , The Golden Girls , and other classic TV shows as well as newer shows that are mostly oriented towards the elderly. Celebrities have been spokespersons for the life insurance company over the years and are known as “compensated endorsers”. The original spokesman was Ed McMahon. Other spokespeople included Lou Rawls, Meredith Vieira, Mary Lou Retton, Tom Bergeron, and Joe Theismann, among others.[ citation needed ]

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek had started using life insurance from the company in the early 1990s, and signed a long-term contract with it to do advertisements in 1997. At first, he did commercials alongside Ed McMahon until McMahon's contract expired in 2001 and Trebek continued to do the commercials and advertising until he announced his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2019.

Trebek would often visit Colonial Penn's headquarters in Philadelphia to meet with employees and representatives and to film commercials. Prior to his death, Trebek's estate received royalties from every commercial that he appeared in.

Since 2019, Colonial Penn sales manager Jonathan Lawson has appeared as a pitchman in the commercials while Trebek was unavailable at times due to health issues.[ citation needed ] When Trebek died in November 2020, most, if not all, commercials featuring him were removed and were replaced by Lawson on a temporary basis, and the life insurance company's website removed all references to Trebek. A week after Trebek died, Colonial Penn announced that his family will receive benefits and funeral expenses. In the months following Trebek's death, Colonial Penn aired commercials paying tribute to Trebek.[ citation needed ]

As of 2024, their advertisements continue with Lawson with information on the company's services, life policies, etc. Their life insurance policies are designed for anyone who needs a life insurance coverage but might not be eligible due to their age or health status. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Actuarial science</span> Statistics applied to risk in insurance and other financial products

Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in insurance, pension, finance, investment and other industries and professions. More generally, actuaries apply rigorous mathematics to model matters of uncertainty and life expectancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed McMahon</span> American television announcer (1923–2009)

Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game show Who Do You Trust?, running from 1957 to 1962. McMahon then made his famous thirty-year mark as Carson's sidekick and announcer on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1962 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alleghany Corporation</span> American investment company

Alleghany Corporation is an American investment holding company originally created by the railroad entrepreneurs Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen as a holding company for their railroad interests. It was incorporated in 1929 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1984. On March 21, 2022, Berkshire Hathaway made an $11.6 billion offer to acquire the company, which completed in October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AARP</span> American nonprofit organization

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., said it had more than 38 million members as of 2018. The magazine and bulletin it sends to its members are the two largest-circulation publications in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gainbridge Fieldhouse</span> Indoor arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Gainbridge Fieldhouse is an indoor arena located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It opened in November 1999 to replace Market Square Arena. The arena is the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association. The fieldhouse also hosts college basketball games, indoor concerts, and ice hockey.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. is an American financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Its insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and supplemental health insurance products to more than four million customers in the United States. These products are distributed through independent agents, career agents and direct to customers through television advertising and direct mail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln National Corporation</span> American insurance and investment management company

Lincoln National Corporation is a Fortune 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for LNC and its subsidiary companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unum</span> American insurance company

Unum Group is an American insurance company headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded as Union Mutual in 1848 and known as UnumProvident from 1999-2007. The company is part of the Fortune 500. Unum Group was created by the 1999 merger of Unum Corporation and The Provident Companies and comprises four distinct businesses – Unum US, Unum UK, Unum Poland and Colonial Life. Its underwriting insurers include The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company and Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company.

The Bankers Life and Casualty Company, doing business as Bankers Life, is a private American health insurance company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1932 as a mutual life insurance company, the company has been a subsidiary of CNO Financial Group since 1992. Bankers Life has 1.4 million policyholders across the United States and Canada, most of whom are within the company's target demographic of middle-aged and retirement-aged adults with annual household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Life Insurance Company</span> American life insurance company

New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company and the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States, and is ranked #71 on the 2023 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue. In 2023, NYLIC achieved the best possible ratings by the four independent rating companies. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as institutional and retail mutual funds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferies Financial Group</span> American financial services company

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is an American financial services company based in New York City. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a part of the Fortune 1000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primerica</span> American multi-level marketing insurance company

Primerica, Inc. is a multi-level marketing company that provides insurance, investment and financial services to middle-income families in the United States and Canada.

Matt McCoy is an American actor. His credits include L.A. Confidential as Brett Chase, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle as Michael Bartel, Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach and Police Academy 6: City Under Siege as Sgt. Nick Lassard, DeepStar Six as Jim Richardson, and Lloyd Braun on Seinfeld.

Jefferies Group LLC is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company that is headquartered in New York City. The firm provides clients with capital markets and financial advisory services, institutional brokerage, securities research, and asset management. This includes mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and other financial advisory services. The Capital Markets segment also includes its securities trading and investment banking activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hartford</span> US-based insurance and investment company

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., usually known as The Hartford, is a United States-based investment and insurance company. The Hartford is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in its namesake city of Hartford, Connecticut. It was ranked 160th in Fortune 500 in the year of 2020. The company's earnings are divided between property-and-casualty operations, group benefits and mutual funds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance for Retired Americans</span>

The Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization and nonpartisan organization of retired trade union members affiliated with the AFL-CIO, which founded it in 2001. The group's membership also includes non-union, community-based activists. Its predecessor organization was known as the National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC).

Richard B. "Rich" Handler is an American businessman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Jefferies since 2001, making him the longest-serving CEO on Wall Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reliance Insurance Company</span>

Reliance Insurance Company, now officially known as Reliance Insurance Company [in Liquidation], was founded in Philadelphia in 1817 and has undergone numerous corporate makeovers in the intervening years. Since October 3, 2001, the company has been in liquidation. As of 2020, Reliance was still in liquidation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saul Steinberg (businessman)</span> American businessman and financier (1939–2012)

Saul Phillip Steinberg was an American businessman and financier. He became a millionaire before his 30th birthday and a billionaire before his 40th birthday. He started a computer leasing company (Leasco), which he used in an audacious and successful takeover of the much larger Reliance Insurance Company in 1968. He was best known for his unsuccessful attempts to take over Chemical Bank in 1969 and Walt Disney Productions in 1984.

References

Notes
  1. Oliver, Myrna (January 23, 2001). "Leonard Davis; Helped Start AARP and Gerontology Programs at USC". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  2. McNair, Jim (October 26, 1985). "FPL Group Offers To Buy Insurance Firm". South Florida Sun-Sentinel . Fort Lauderdale. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  3. Kolody, Tracy (April 6, 1991). "FPL Group Finds Buyer For Insurer: Colonial Penn Brings In $150 Million". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013.
  4. "Colonial Penn Life Insurance Review 2023 – Forbes Advisor". www.forbes.com. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  5. "Conseco Planning to Acquire Colonial Penn" . The New York Times . Bloomberg News. May 1, 1997. p. D5.
  6. "YouTube - 1998 - Commercial - Conseco Direct Life - formerly Colonial Penn Life - starring Ed McMahon". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  7. "Our Companies". CNO Financial Group. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  8. MCCLANAHAN, Aja (5 January 2023). "Colonial Penn Life Insurance Review". Miami Herald.