How much is Lenders Mortgage Insurance?
There are huge differences in your Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) premium depending on your Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) and the lender you choose.
The 3 Golden Rules For LMI Premium
Many Australians don’t know what Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is, even though it can cost you literally thousands of dollars in upfront costs. How can you reduce your LMI premium and save thousands? Download this guide to know.
How can we get you a better deal?
Most mortgage brokers just compare the interest rates of different loans.
Your current bank can only offer its set LMI premiums, interest rates and loan products.
Is there a better way to compare loans?
Home Loan Experts takes a very different, 3-step approach to help you find the cheapest loan:
- Identify the lenders, LMI providers and discounts for which you qualify.
- Identify your specific needs, required loan features and objectives for your loan.
- Create a simple comparison for you, by taking all of the above into account.
We’re here to give you the information you need to make an informed decision, not to push particular lenders or loans.
If you’d like to know the cheapest LMI premium from our lenders, please enquire online or call us on 1300 889 743.
A Home Loan Experts mortgage broker will provide you with an obligation-free quote.
Once we have provided you with a quote, call us to discuss the available options and let us know which mortgage you’d prefer.
Our experts are aware of LMI approval criteria and pricing of different lenders, so we can provide you with an accurate and competitive assessment.
You can also leverage the power of the 360° Home Loan Assessor, which is a comprehensive tool that helps you assess how much you can borrow by considering your income, expenses and other financial factors.
Make Informed Decisions With The 360° Home Loan Assessor
- Determine how much you can contribute as a deposit
- Get clarity on the total costs of buying a home
- Explore interest-rate options based on your situation
Will the mortgage insurer approve your loan?
Did you know it’s harder to qualify for a loan if mortgage insurance approval is required?
Mortgage insurers are very conservative when assessing a 95% home loan or 90% home loan, so it is unlikely that you can get approval for such loans from every lender.
Unlike most mortgage brokers, we work out which lenders may approve your loan before providing you with a quote.
This way, we don’t waste your time by offering you a discounted home loan that won’t be approved!
Mortgage insurers are more likely to decline your mortgage application if:
- You don’t meet their genuine savings requirement.
- You don’t pass credit scoring criteria.
- You want to buy a property type that lenders might not like.
Are you ready to apply for a home loan?
Simply call us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free assessment form and one of our mortgage brokers will let you know which lenders may approve your loan.
Get the cheapest LMI premium
It’s common for first-home buyers, investors, refinancers and upgraders to get LMI discounts from different lenders.
In some cases, we can get you additional discounts by slightly amending your loan amount.
This is where an experienced mortgage broker can reduce your LMI premium.
We’re experts at understanding LMI policy from a range of providers.
No-LMI home loans
Did you know that some lenders will waive LMI or offer a discount?
These discounts are rare and there are often strict qualifying criteria.
The great news is that they are usually available for home loans that already have very low interest rates!
We have made agreements with some of our lenders to offer some specials to our customers.
- 85% home loans with no LMI are available for most professions. Waived LMI up to 90% is available to select professionals only.
- Doctors are eligible to borrow up to 100% of the property value and avoid the cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
- Lawyers, solicitors and barristers are eligible for waived LMI in some circumstances.
- Engineers, surveyors, mine surveyors, quantity surveyors, geologists and geophysicists who work in the mining or resource sector are eligible for waived LMI in some circumstances.
- Accountants, finance managers, auditors and actuaries are eligible for waived LMI in some circumstances. One major lender requires an accountant’s salary to be $150k per year to qualify for waived LMI; whereas, other lenders don’t require a certain income threshold.
You can view the current discounts available and qualifying criteria on our home loans with no LMI page.
There are special no-LMI discounts from various lenders.
The above list of lenders and lenders mortgage insurers aren’t ordered this way in our calculator’s results.
One or more major banks may be included depending on your search criteria.
If you’d like our help to find the lowest LMI premium then please call us on 1300 889 743 or fill in the details on our online assessment form.
Which lenders use Lenders Mortgage Insurance?
The following lenders use Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI):
- Adelaide Bank
- Advantage (Formerly known as Challenger / Interstar)
- AMP
- ANZ
- Australian First Mortgage (AFM)
- Australian Secured and Managed Mortgages (ASMM)
- Australian Unity
- Bank of Queensland (BQLD)
- BankWest (BW)
- Better Mortgage Company (BMC)
- Better Mortgage Management (BMM)
- Bluestone (Risk fee)
- Citibank
- Collins Securities
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
- FirstMac
- Heritage Building Society
- Homeloans Limited
- Homeside Lending
- ING Direct (REF risk fee and LMI)
- La Trobe Financial
- Liberty Financial (LMP risk fee and LMI)
- Loan Ave
- Mainstream Capital
- Merchant Mortgages
- MKM Capital (Risk fee)
- Mortgage Asset Services (MAS)
- National Australia Bank (NAB)
- Paramount Mortgage Services
- Pepper Home Loans (Risk fee)
- RAMS Home Loans
- St George Bank (StG / SGB)
- Suncorp Bank
- The Rock Building Society
- Westpac Bank (WBC)
Although our Lenders Mortgage Insurance calculator doesn’t take all of these lenders into account, you can expect that the LMI premium will be similar to the ones listed in the calculator results.
If you’d like an LMI quote for a specific lender then please contact one of our mortgage brokers on 1300 889 743.
Stamp duty on mortgage insurance
Each state government charges a duty on insurance premiums.
Please note that risk fees, which some lenders use instead of LMI, aren’t technically insurance and, as such, stamp duty doesn’t apply.
Stamp duty on LMI is payable on the premium according to the state or territory in which the security property is located and then added to the premium:
- NSW: 9.0% of the premium
- VIC: 10.0% of the premium
- QLD: 9.0% of the premium
- SA: 11.0% of the premium
- WA: 10.0% of the premium
- ACT: 6% of the premium (abolished)
- NT: 10.0% of the premium
- TAS: 10.0% of the premium
This is not the same as the stamp duty charged on the purchase of a property.
The mortgage insurer will automatically add the stamp duty to the premium, as well as any GST, and deduct any Reduced Input Tax Credit (RITC).
Can I get an LMI refund?
Up until 2012, it was possible to ask your bank for an LMI refund if you repaid your mortgage within the first two years.
Since then, most lenders have changed their agreements with their LMI providers.
Instead of offering an LMI refund, they simply offer you a lower premium.
So although refunds are generally no longer available, you can still save thousands of dollars by simply using the LMI calculator and shopping around.
Creating an LMI quote
Our mortgage insurance calculator is updated regularly.
However, there are other factors the LMI calculator cannot consider.
Some lenders have different sets of LMI premiums depending on the nature of your application or they may have premium loadings for particular loan purposes.
For an exact quote, please contact one of our mortgage brokers by calling 1300 889 743.
Our LMI calculator asks for more information than other calculators you may find online.
In this way, it can give a more accurate result by:
- Confirming which lenders/mortgage insurers are likely to accept your mortgage application.
- Using the state you’re in to calculate the stamp duty on your LMI premium correctly.
- Determining whether you may be eligible for a special discount or waiver.
If you’re ready to apply for a home loan, please call us on 1300 889 743 or enquire online.
A Home Loan Experts mortgage broker will give you a call to discuss the cheapest LMI premiums available for your situation.