In order to secure themselves against potential default of mortgages, mortgage sellers adopt the policy of buying insurance policies. These insurance policies are mandatory for those mortgages in which there has been a down payment of less than 20%. The premiums over these mortgage insurance are generally passed on to the buyer of the mortgage, who pays it along with the monthly payments towards the mortgage. Such mortgages are also called BPMI, or Borrower Paid Mortgage Insurance. There is also another kind of mortgage insurance the LPMI, or Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance. The conventional pattern is to go in for a BPMI.

Rates of mortgage insurance vary according to current situations. As in mortgages, the rates of the insurance also may be either fixed or adjustable. Fixed-rate mortgage insurance is constant for the entire life of the mortgage, while adjustable-rate mortgage insurance varies according to market fluctuations in rates.

Mortgage insurance rates also differ depending on whether they are BPMI or LPMI. There is not much difference in the numbers; the difference lies in who pays the premiums of the mortgage. In addition to all these factors, mortgage insurance rates also depend on the amount of mortgage coverage that the insurance provides. A greater coverage would be levied at a lower rate of insurance.

It is not easy to mention the rates individually, as there are a wide number of factors and statistics involved and they vary from day to day. However, any mortgage insurance company would be more than pleased to give a current list of the insurance rates if asked. It is highly necessary to know the current mortgage insurance rates while buying a mortgage, as typically it would be the borrower who would have to pay for it. Most borrowers neglect to ask the mortgage rates from their mortgage sellers, or they are simply misinformed. These are the people who later find themselves stuck in a rut of high monthly payments.