How Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Mortgage Insurance Rates

Your health plays a significant role in trying to obtain the lowest Mortgage Insurance Rates available. Pre-existing conditions like heart disease, cancer, stroke, sleep apnea, asthma, diabetes, and depression will make your Mortgage Insurance Rates much more expensive. Any illnesses you’ve had within the last ten years can also increase your Mortgage Insurance Rates, even if you've beaten the illness and show no further symptoms. Knowing which companies treat certain health conditions more favorably and which companies have less expensive Mortgage Insurance Rates for higher-risk health classifications will help you narrow down which company will have your lowest Mortgage Insurance Rates. At TermAdvantage, we shop over 2,000 companies throughout the entire country, and we know exactly where to go to get you the lowest Mortgage Insurance Rates without sacrificing quality. Each company we represent is rated A (excellent) or higher by AMBest.com, so you can be confident about obtaining Mortgage Insurance Rates offered by the most financially stable and secure companies in America.

How Hobbies Affect Your Mortgage Insurance Rates

Did you know that the hobbies you take part in can determine what your Mortgage Insurance Rates will be? It’s true. If you skydive, scuba dive, bungee jump, or enjoy other high risk avocations, you'll be facing much higher Mortgage Insurance Rates from all of the mortgage insurance companies throughout the country. Mortgage Insurance Rates are determined by the amount of risk you pose to the mortgage insurance company. If you enjoy dangerous, high risk hobbies, there's a greater chance you'll die during the term of your policy, and the company will be required to pay your death benefit to your beneficiary(ies). Because all mortgage insurance companies see high risk avocations as a sub-standard risk, they'll charge you much higher Mortgage Insurance Rates in order to compensate for the additional risk. Even if you're in perfect health, you'll be charged substantially higher Mortgage Insurance Rates due to your high risk avocation.

Tobacco and Your Mortgage Insurance Rates

If you use any type of tobacco, even infrequently, you may have a difficult time finding the lowest available mortgage insurance rates. Some mortgage insurance companies have a more favorable treatment of occasional tobacco users, while others consider proposed insured’s as smokers even if they only indulge in one cigar per month.

If you use any type of tobacco including cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipes, or cigarettes, make sure your mortgage insurance broker is aware of what type of tobacco you use and how often you partake. If you smoke a cigar once or twice a month, and you disclose that to your mortgage insurance broker, they may be able to find you a mortgage insurance company in which that type of smoking falls under the non-tobacco/non-smoker health classification/mortgage insurance rates category. With over 2,000 mortgage insurance companies to shop from, it’s easy for our mortgage insurance agents to obtain the lowest available mortgage insurance rates for you, even if you do use nicotine/tobacco products.

Correcting Your Medical Information Bureau Report

Mortgage insurance company underwriters rely on information presented in your Medical Information Bureau (MIB) report when determining your mortgage insurance rates and health classification. The information in your MIB report is gathered from a variety of sources and could contain information that you don’t even realize is there.

If you applied for mortgage insurance in the past and answered a question on the application incorrectly—possibly marking yes on a health question when you should have marked no—then the mortgage insurance company most likely reported to the MIB that you may have that particular illness. Unfortunately, even though this information is incorrect, it will affect how every underwriter views your risk to the mortgage insurance company. This can result in much higher mortgage insurance rates for you.

You can order a copy of your MIB report by going to www.MIB.com. Review this information before you apply, so that you can dispute any incorrect information. This is definitely another great way to try to save on your mortgage insurance rates.

Medications and Your Mortgage Insurance Rates

The prescription medications that you take can be an indicator of health problems you currently have or health concerns your physician is trying to ward off. As an example, diabetic medications combined with cholesterol medications can indicate that you have or are at risk for a hardening of the arteries and a heart attack. Underwriters, who review your application for mortgage insurance and determine your mortgage insurance rates, may charge you higher mortgage insurance rates because of the combinations of the medications you’ve been prescribed.

In order to obtain the lowest possible mortgage insurance rates, be sure to take some time in learning and understand the prescription medications you're taking and the potential impact they could make on an underwriting decision. If you're concerned that certain prescription medications could send a negative message about your health that is incorrect, ask your physician to write a note explaining exactly what your medications were prescribed for and whether or not other complications could be the reason for the medications. This will ensure you obtaining the lowest mortgage insurance rates available.