Mortgage protection insurance (MPI) is a type of life insurance designed to pay off your mortgage if you were to pass away. Some policies also cover mortgage payments (usually for a limited period of time) if you become disabled.
Both term insurance and mortgage life insurance provide a means of paying off your mortgage. With either type of insurance, you pay regular premiums to keep the coverage in force. But with mortgage life insurance, your mortgage lender is the beneficiary of the policy rather than beneficiaries you designate.
Mortgage insurance is a type of insurance that protects against default on home loans. Because private mortgage insurance (PMI) mitigates risk to the investors who own mortgages, it allows folks with down payments less than 20% to purchase a home.
A life insurance for mortgage protection policy is a term life policy designed specifically to repay mortgage debts and associated costs in the event of the death of the borrower. These policies differ from traditional life insurance policies because they are specifically pegged to the mortgage.
However, if you have a mortgage, your lender will most likely require that you carry a homeowners insurance policy to protect the financial interest it has in your home.
PMI is arranged by the lender and provided by private insurance companies. It insures the lender against loss caused by borrowers failing to make loan payments. Make no mistake: If you fall behind on your mortgage payments, PMI does not protect you and you can still lose your home through foreclosure.
REQUIRING THE PROPER INSURANCE: PROPERTY INSURANCE
The most important insurance issue for a lender is to insure that adequate property insurance is in place to protect the value of its collateral.
If you have a death certificate and proof of inheritance, like a will, this should be a relatively simple process. The heir will continue making payments wherever the original homeowner left off in order to prevent foreclosure. Payments may be required even before the mortgage account is legally assumed by the heir.
Most commonly, surviving family members inherit the property and maintain the mortgage payments while they arrange to sell the home. If no one takes over the mortgage after your death, your mortgage servicer will begin the process of foreclosing on the home.
If you buy a $300,000 home, you could be paying somewhere between $600 – $6,000 per year in mortgage insurance. This cost is broken into monthly installments to make it more affordable. In this example, you're likely looking at paying $50 – $500 per month.
Unfortunately, as the borrower, you cannot shop around for your mortgage insurance. Only the lender can. However, you can request a specific PMI provider if you qualify for their product and they are offered by your lender. As you shop lenders and rates make sure you also compare the PMI premium quotes.
Like traditional life insurance policies, mortgage protection safeguards what many consider their largest asset and financial obligation, their home. Property owners may acquire such a policy from most insurance companies up to the age of 80.
A mortgage lives on after the death of the borrower, but unless there is a co-signer or, in community property states, a surviving spouse, none of the deceased person's heirs are responsible for paying the mortgage. Those who are in line to receive an inheritance may be able to take over payments and keep the house.
Life insurance policies make this relief possible by offering several ways to access the funds you need to pay off your bills like selling your life insurance policy. You can even borrow against life insurance—accessing some of your policy's accumulated cash value for funds you can use to lower your debt.
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Additional examples of unsecured debt include medical debt and most types of credit card debt. If you die with unsecured debt, repayment becomes the responsibility of your estate. Your legal estate refers to all the assets, property and money left behind by you or another deceased person when they die.
Mortgage: Federal law requires lenders to allow family members to assume a mortgage if they inherit a property. However, there is no requirement that an inheritor must keep the mortgage. They can pay off the debt, refinance or sell the property.
No, a mortgage can't remain under a deceased person's name. When the borrower passes away, the loan won't disappear. Instead, it needs to be paid. After the borrower passes, the responsibility for the mortgage payments immediately falls on the borrower's estate or heirs.
While the amount you pay for PMI can vary, you can expect to pay approximately between $30 and $70 per month for every $100,000 borrowed.
Banks and lenders often sell MPI policies. As you pay off your mortgage, the insurance payout decreases, but the premiums stay the same. For many, this is a major detractor of MPI, but it can be easier to get MPI coverage than life insurance as there's no medical evaluation required.
Mortgage, Whole, and Child Life Insurance
There are many kinds of life insurance policies available but you should think twice before buying these three types. Mortgage life insurance provides coverage for outstanding mortgage payments in the event of the policyholder's sudden death.
Your down payment amount: A down payment of 20 percent or more results in no PMI. Below that cut-off, there can be a significant difference in the amount you'll pay every month, depending on how much money you put down: The closer it is to 20 percent, the less your PMI.
Personal property
Property owners may also want coverage for their personal possessions. This is not generally required by mortgage lenders.