B7-1-01, Provision of Mortgage Insurance (02/03/2021)

Lenders must ensure that any mortgage insurance Fannie Mae requires for a mortgage loan is in place. Lenders must obtain and be able to produce evidence of any required mortgage insurance or loan guaranty.

Unless the lender has provided another charter-compliant form of credit enhancement, the lender must obtain a primary mortgage insurance policy for a conventional first mortgage loan that has an LTV ratio greater than 80% at the time it is purchased for Fannie Mae’s portfolio or securitized. (For this purpose, the LTV ratio is calculated based upon the unpaid principal balance of the mortgage loan at the time it is purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae.)

• For a purchase money loan, the value used in determining the LTV ratio is the lower of the sales price or the appraised value of the security property.

• For a refinance loan, the value used in originating the loan can be derived from an appraisal, AVM, or other acceptable method.

Conventional mortgages may be insured by private mortgage insurers or state or local insuring agencies that have been approved under Fannie Mae’s Qualified Mortgage Insurer Approval Requirements to insure loans sold to or serviced for Fannie Mae. For a listing of the eligible conventional mortgage insurers and their associated mortgage insurance codes, see Approved Mortgage Insurers and Related Identifiers. The website is the definitive source for approved mortgage insurers.

The form of mortgage insurance policy, including any endorsements, must be acceptable to Fannie Mae.

Lenders are responsible for ensuring that only Fannie Mae-approved mortgage insurance forms and related endorsements and other forms (Forms) are used in connection with individual loans sold to or securitized by Fannie Mae. These Forms provide the terms of mortgage insurance coverage on individual loans. A list of Fannie Mae-approved Forms for each insurance provider is available on Fannie Mae’s website – see Approved Mortgage Insurance Forms.

Any mortgage loan sold to or securitized by Fannie Mae that requires primary mortgage insurance (or is delivered with primary mortgage insurance even though not required) and has a loan application date on or after October 1, 2014, must be insured under one of the Fannie Mae-approved Forms. If such loan is insured under any pre-existing forms or agreements between lenders and mortgage insurers, the loan is not eligible for sale to Fannie Mae, and is subject to repurchase if identified after acquisition by Fannie Mae.

Any mortgage loan sold to or securitized by Fannie Mae that requires primary mortgage insurance (or is delivered with primary mortgage insurance even though not required) and has a loan application date prior to October 1, 2014, may be insured under either

• one of the Fannie Mae-approved Forms; or

• any pre-existing forms and agreements between lenders and mortgage insurers, as long as the lender first confirms with the mortgage insurer that such forms and agreements were approved by Fannie Mae for use at the time of the loan application date.

Under a New York statute, a mortgage insurer must issue mortgage insurance based on a determination of the “fair market value” of the property. The term “fair market value” is not defined in the statute, but has been defined by the New York insurance regulator as being the “appraised value.” Per the statute, for co-op properties, the issuance of mortgage insurance must be based on the “purchase price of the ownership interest and the proprietary lease.”

As a result, the determination of value for properties in New York is different from Fannie Mae’s standard definition of value that is used to calculate the LTV ratio. The following table identifies the value calculation that is to be used for mortgage loans secured by properties in New York for policies that are based on the LTV ratio.

Premium plans for mortgage insurance may be:

• monthly plans – monthly premiums from accumulated escrow deposits (with no initial payment at closing),

• annual plans – an initial payment at closing to cover the first year's premium and annual renewal premiums thereafter paid from accumulated escrow deposits,

• single-premium plans – lump-sum premium at closing to purchase life-of-the-mortgage coverage, or

• split-premium plans – an initial payment at closing and an ongoing monthly premium from accumulated escrow deposits.

Each loan a lender delivers to Fannie Mae must be insurable. A mortgage is insurable if a mortgage insurer would not decline to insure it by reason of any fraud, misrepresentation, negligence, or dishonest, criminal, or knowingly wrongful act in origination or servicing, and would not be entitled to deny a claim by reason of any of the foregoing.

Fannie Mae prohibits lenders from entering into any agreement that modifies the terms of an approved mortgage insurance master policy on loans delivered to or intended for delivery to Fannie Mae. Prohibited agreements include, but are not limited to, agreements that directly or indirectly:

• modify master policy provisions for settling of claims,

• limit the right of a mortgage insurer to conduct file reviews or investigate claims,

• limit the right of a mortgage insurer to rescind coverage,

• rescind or modify coverage, or

• restrict notice to Fannie Mae of changes in coverage status.

Further, Fannie Mae prohibits loss sharing, indemnification, settlement, or similar agreements of any kind between lenders and mortgage insurance companies that affect Fannie Mae's interest in its mortgage loans or modify the terms of an approved mortgage insurance master policy on loans delivered to or intended for delivery to Fannie Mae. Traditional captive reinsurance arrangements between a mortgage insurance company and a licensed insurer or reinsurer may be permissible so long as they do not:

• affect Fannie Mae's interest in its mortgage loans, or

• modify the terms of an approved mortgage insurance master policy on loans delivered to or intended for delivery to Fannie Mae.