Private mortgage insurance (PMI) provider Arch Mortgage Insurance Co., announced this week that it will move beyond the conventional rate sheets used for decades in the industry and introduce a new, risk-based model for pricing coverage.
The company’s new program, called RateStar, offers a more targeted approach and uses a combination of loan characteristics and other risk factors to determine the most precise premium rate for each loan. Instead of loans being grouped in large risk buckets, each loan will be priced based on its individual risk attributes.
David Gansberg, president and CEO of Arch MI, said RateStar offers benefits to both loan originators and their customers. RateStar is integrated with most loan origination systems and pricing engines and can compare Arch MI product rates to FHA rates.
Arch MI will honor RateStar quotes for 90 days as long as there is no change to the submitted loan information. Borrowers can get instant quotes and save, share or print them for future reference. Borrowers can also view side-by-side comparisons to pick the best PMI option for them.
“RateStar will not require any new data attributes, so the transition to RateStar will be seamless and easy for lenders,” Gansberg said. “With its intuitive design and ready access, our customers will find RateStar is an easy-to-use tool to access competitive mortgage insurance rates.”
“RateStar will not require any new data attributes, so the transition to RateStar will be seamless and easy for lenders.” – David Gansberg, president and CEO of Arch MI
RateStar will be rolled out during the fourth quarter. Pricing availability will be subject to state regulatory approvals. In states where RateStar pricing is not yet available, Arch MI will fall back on its rate sheet pricing when determining coverage.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Capital Group Ltd., Arch MI is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and offers both borrower-paid mortgage insurance and lender-paid mortgage insurance rates.
