Portability Feature

Helps Sagen-insured borrowers save on the costs of a new mortgage by “porting” their mortgage default insurance to a new home.

Side view of houses and grass in a neighbourhood after sunset

Most Lenders have a portability feature, which allows the transfer of an original mortgage to a new property, preserving a low interest rate and saving the cost of setting up a new mortgage. If a homebuyer decided to port a mortgage to a new home and the mortgage is insured by Sagen, the mortgage insurance can also be ported. This reduces future mortgage insurance premiums. This product allows borrowers with a Sagen insured mortgage to save on the costs associated with a new mortgage by taking advantage of the L ender’s mortgage portability plan and “port” the mortgage insurance as well.

Acceptable Loan Purpose and Applicable Loan-to-Value Limits

Purchase transactions:

  • 95% LTV
  • Property value ≤ $500,000 – 5% down payment
  • Property value > $500,000 and < $1,000,000 – 5% down payment required up to $500,000, with an additional 10% down payment on the portion of the home value above $500,000.

Time Period

  • Mortgage insurance may be ported to a new property for up to a maximum of six (6) months after the closing date of the currently insured mortgaged property.

Amortization Options

  1. Straight port: amortization of the new loan cannot exceed that remaining on the original loan.
  2. Port / Top-Up with increased loan amount or increased LTV ratio:

Maximum amortization will be the greater of using the following

A. Blended Amortization: \frac{(Outstanding\,Balance\, x\, Remaining\,Amortization)\,+\,(New\,Funds\, x\, New\,Amortization)}{Outstanding\,Balance\, +\, New\,Funds} B.Lapsed Time Calculation: Amortization on new mortgage – Amortization elapsed on the original mortgage.

Premium Rate

  • Straight port: No new premium is payable.
  • The premium to be paid is the lesser of:
    • Full Premium Calculation: Full premium rate on total loan amount less applicable premium credit.
    • Top-up Premium Calculation: Top -up premium rate on new funds.

Standard Premium Rate Chart

LTV Ratio Premium Rate Top-Up Premium
Up to 65% 0.60% 0.60%
65.01% - 75% 1.70% 5.90%
75.01% - 80% 2.40% 6.05%
80.01% - 85% 2.80% 6.20%
85.01% - 90% 3.10% 6.25%
90.01% - 95% 4.00% 6.30%

The above chart is for mortgages with an amortization that is 25 years or less. If a mortgage is eligible for an amortization greater than 25 years (up to 30 years) an additional premium of 0.20% will apply.

For specialty products, please refer to the applicable product overview for premium rates The mortgage insurance premium is non-refundable, paid at the time of closing and may be added onto the mortgage.

Premium Credit

  • Applicable for purchase applications where full premium was paid on the original mortgage
  • Premium credit will be applied to the full premium on the new mortgage as per the table below:
From Original Closing Date Of Original Premium Paid
Within 6 months 100%
Within 12 months 50%
Within 24 months 25%

*Sagen’s mortgage insurance continues to be portable beyond two (2)years; however, the premium credit will not apply.

Borrower Qualification

  • Original mortgage must have been insured by Sagen and be up to date.
  • Borrower reassessment is required. Existing requirements related to income, down payment and credit worthiness apply.
  • Where more than one borrower is involved, at least one of the borrowers must have been identified on the original application as a borrower and remain on title.
  • Complete borrower re-qualification is required when the borrower increases the loan amount or the LTV ratio.

Documentation requirements

  • Offer to Purchase
  • Port with increased loan amount and / or LTV ratio: standard documentation requirements