Colonial Life has one of the oldest reputations in the supplemental benefits industry. They offer life, accident, and illness policies to complement your health insurance plan. These plans offer a safety net in the event you’re sick, hurt or have a limited life expectancy.

Here’s What You Need to Know About Colonial Life Insurance

Colonial Life Insurance company is a well-known voluntary benefits company. They offer life insurance and other supplemental benefits through the workplace.

Pros and Cons of Colonial Life Insurance

Pros

Online claim filing and access to policies

Strong financial stability

Multiple policy options available for life insurance, accident and illness

Ability to take your policy with you if you leave your job

Cons

No online quoting system

May have to submit to a medical exam for some policies

May not be able to cancel easily based on customer reviews

Employer-sponsored life insurance can be more expensive than individual life insurance

Universal life insurance is not available.

No life insurance riders are listed as available on their website.

How is Colonial Life Insurance Different?

Colonial Life got an early start in the supplemental benefits industry with no signs of slowing down. They were ranked at the top of America’s Best Companies for Customer Service for 2019 by Newsweek magazine. They pride themselves on their “one-to-one benefits counseling” and offer virtual enrollment opportunities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though there are other voluntary benefits companies, Colonial Life has one of the longest histories in the industry. Colonial Life has also partnered with the Governing Institute to provide guidance and support in building the future public workforce.

What Types of Insurance Can You Purchase from Colonial Life Insurance

There are two types of life insurance products offered through Colonial Life: term and whole life.

The biggest difference between the two types of life insurance coverage is that the term only lasts for a specific amount of time while whole life insurance is permanent coverage.

What Policies Does Colonial Life Offer

While the company’s name is Colonial Life, life insurance isn’t the only type of policies they offer. Through your employer, you may also be eligible for:

Accident insurance
Cancer insurance
Disability insurance
Critical Illness insurance
Dental & Vision insurance
Hospital confinement indemnity insurance

If you’re interested in any of these supplemental insurance plans, contact your Human Resources administrator to learn more.

A Brief History of Colonial Life Insurance

Edwin F. Averyt and J. Clifton Judy had a vision for Mutual Accident Company in 1937. Now known as Colonial Life & Accident Insurance, the company was founded to focus on a specific need – to help employees financially when the unexpected happens.

Financial devastation is a very real fear for the majority of America’s workers. Many live paycheck to paycheck and are just one accident or illness away from losing everything they’ve worked hard to obtain. In fact, over 500,000 families file for bankruptcy each year after an illness, according to the American Journal of Public Health.

While the numbers may have changed since the 1930s, the need for supplemental benefits like accident and life insurance is still high. The founders knew this, continuing to evolve over time with new product offerings, as employees’ needs changed. They have always been ahead of the game with technology and were one of the first to offer payroll deduction in 1955.

The company is a subsidiary of Unum Group, but the company’s philosophy has not changed. They now have over 10,000 sales representatives offering benefits through more than 90,000 companies in the United States. Colonial Life has over 3.7 million policyholders and dependents with more than $1.5 billion in annual premiums.

Colonial Life Insurance Coverage Details and Guidelines

WHO ISSUES THEIR POLICIES?

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company located in Columbia, SC underwrites and issues the life insurance policies. In other words, once the policies are submitted for underwriting approval, the rest of the process is handled internally by Colonial Life company.

HOW DO I GET AN ONLINE QUOTE THROUGH COLONIAL LIFE?

There is no current way to get an online quote through this company. Colonial Life policies are issued as a supplemental benefit through an employee’s workplace.

The best way to get a quote is to contact your Human Resources department to ask about the life insurance benefit. They will be able to direct you to the agent contracted through Colonial life who can then provide a quote to you.

HOW DO I GET A LOW RATE?

There are a few things you can do to get a low rate on supplemental life insurance. With these types of policies, there are base rates determined by the industry and type of job you do. From there, your age and the amount of coverage you need will determine your out-of-pocket cost.

Who is Colonial Life Insurance For?

Colonial Life is for anyone who doesn’t already have life insurance but needs it. Most people need some amount of life insurance, even if it’s just to cover funeral expenses.

Getting a supplemental life insurance policy can be an affordable and easy way to get life insurance. Depending on the policy and amount of coverage, you may not have to submit to a medical exam or even answer health questions.

For someone without life insurance in place, Colonial Life supplemental life insurance may be a good fit. Colonial life insurance is portable, so if you leave your employer, you can take it with you at the same rate you were approved for.

However, if you are in good health, you may get a better rate and premium with individual life insurance. Because employer-sponsored life insurance uses a group rating, it’s not always the best rate for healthy people.

WHO IS THE IDEAL COLONIAL LIFE APPLICANT?

The ideal Colonial Life applicant is someone who has not reached retirement age and is in good health. Depending on the plan and coverage, even smokers can get decent rates with Colonial Life.

WHAT IF I’M NOT PERFECTLY HEALTHY?

Even if you’re not perfectly healthy, you should consider applying with Colonial Life if you need life insurance coverage. You might have to answer some basic health questions, but as long as you haven’t had any major medical issues in the last five years, you should still be able to get guaranteed life insurance at a good rate.

Some plans and coverage amounts require a medical exam. If you’re concerned about your health and getting approved for life insurance, ask the sales representative when a medical exam is required and if your specific health concerns will disqualify you from coverage.

How To Apply For Life Insurance with Colonial Life

The only way to apply for life insurance with Colonial Life is to have it offered as a voluntary benefit through your workplace. While this limits the number of people who can apply, it allows the company to keep plan costs lower than if they were offering them to the general public.

SIGNING UP FOR COLONIAL LIFE

Your employer will designate a time for open enrollment for benefits, including voluntary supplement benefits like life insurance. A representative for Colonial Life typically comes to your workplace to speak with each eligible employee to discuss their individual needs for life insurance and other policies.

HOW DOES THE APPLICATION PROCESS WITH COLONIAL LIFE WORK?

Once you’ve selected your life insurance policy and the coverage amount, you’ll answer health questions if required. The Colonial Life representative will fill in your application as you answer the questions, which will then be submitted to the company for underwriting approval.

If a medical exam is required, they will coordinate with the exam company for you to complete the exam. Once all documentation is received by Colonial Life, they will then proceed to issue or decline the policy.

COLONIAL LIFE FINANCIAL STRENGTH AND BBB RATINGS

Colonial Life has strong financial stability, meaning they should not have a problem with paying out claims when the time comes. Their financial strength also means they are not likely to default on their obligations or file for bankruptcy.

Here is a list of the rating companies and their scores for Colonial Life:

Better Business Bureau: A+
Fitch Ratings: A-
Moody’s Rating: A3
A.M Best Rating: A

Colonial Life Reviews and Complaints

As a company in the insurance industry, Colonial Life has a National Complaint Index Report under the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The National Complaint Index standard is 1.00 with the Colonial Life index being 0.58. This means that Colonial Life’s complaint index is less than half as expected in the market.

Colonial Life has had 68 complaints with the Better Business Bureau in the last three years with 15 complaints closed in the last year. Forty-six of the complaints are related to a problem with the product and 13 have to do with billing issues.

Consumer Affairs has 135 ratings for Colonial Life with an overall satisfaction rate of 1.5 out of 5 stars. Most complaints are about the paperwork needed and time for claims to be paid and the frustration with trying to cancel policies.

The Bottom Line

Colonial Life is a voluntary benefits company offering life insurance and other supplemental plans for life accident and illness coverage. They are financially strong and have been in business for over 100 years in the United States.

Colonial Life has a low complaint index with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. They have consumer complaints through the BBB and Consumer Affairs, mainly due to length of claim payout, paperwork needed, and inability to cancel plans in place.

Colonial Life has been a subsidiary of the Unum Group since the 1990s. They offer comprehensive and competitive supplemental benefits through employers at group rates for employees to protect themselves financially if they or a covered family member are sick, injured or pass away.