What Is PMI?

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is a monthly charge a lender adds to a conventional mortgage when the borrower puts less than 20% down. It insures the lender against the borrower defaulting; it pays nothing to the borrower. It typically costs 0.5% to 1.5% of the loan balance a year, and under federal law it can be cancelled once the loan-to-value ratio falls far enough.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-03

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What is PMI?

PMI is a monthly charge added to a mortgage payment when the down payment at purchase is under 20% of the purchase price. The lender requires it as protection against default. If the borrower defaults, the policy pays the lender.

PMI typically runs 0.5% to 1.5% of the loan balance per year, which works out to roughly $100 to $500 a month on a mortgage of the size common on the Wasatch Front. The borrower pays the premium and receives no coverage from it.

The requirement reflects the equity position at closing. Once that position changes — through principal paydown, appreciation, or both — the requirement can end.

What does PMI cost?

$291/mo

$350k loan · 1.0% PMI rate

$3,500 / year

$283/mo

$400k loan · 0.85% PMI rate

$3,400 / year

$375/mo

$450k loan · 1.0% PMI rate

$4,500 / year

At $300 a month, five years of premiums comes to $18,000. The figures above are worked examples at the stated loan sizes and rates, not quotes; the rate on any particular loan is set at closing and appears on the closing disclosure.

Because the cancellation thresholds are measured against the property’s value, appreciation moves a borrower toward them without any change to the payment schedule. Whether a specific loan has crossed a threshold depends on its balance, the property’s current value, and the loan’s age.

What sets your PMI rate

PMI is not one price. Your rate is quoted as an annual percentage of the loan balance and set at closing from a handful of inputs, which is why two neighbours with the same loan size can pay very different amounts:

Down payment. The single biggest lever. A 5% down payment prices materially higher than 15%, because the insurer is covering more of the loan.
Credit score. Rate cards are banded, and the steps between bands are steep. The gap between a 680 and a 760 score can roughly double the premium.
Loan term and type. Shorter terms and fixed rates generally price lower than 30-year or adjustable loans.
Occupancy. A primary residence prices lower than a second home or an investment property, and some investment loans face stricter equity thresholds for cancellation later.

Most conventional PMI lands between 0.5% and 1.5% of the balance a year. None of this changes after closing, which is the point worth remembering: your rate is fixed, so the only way the cost goes down is for the policy to end.

Finding PMI on your mortgage statement

PMI is rarely labelled in full. Look in the payment breakdown for a line reading MI, PMI, Mortgage Ins, or MI Premium, sitting alongside principal, interest, taxes and hazard insurance.

If you cannot find one, there are three possibilities. You put 20% or more down and never had PMI. Your PMI already terminated. Or you have lender-paid MI, where the cost is built into your interest rate instead of billed monthly, and no amount of equity will remove it. Your closing disclosure will say which.

Government-backed loans are a separate world: their mortgage insurance follows its own rules, often cannot be cancelled on equity alone, and nothing on this page applies to it. Everything here is about conventional PMI.

How do you remove PMI?

Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, a servicer must respond to a written cancellation request within 30 days. Which loan-to-value threshold opens that request depends on which value the ratio is measured against:

Original value. Cancellation can be requested at 80% LTV (12 U.S.C. §4902(a)); the servicer must terminate PMI automatically at 78% (12 U.S.C. §4902(b)).
Current value — the appreciation path. 75% LTV if the loan is under 5 years old (12 U.S.C. §4902(a)(3)(A)); 80% at 5 years or older (12 U.S.C. §4902(a)(3)(B)).

The appreciation path is measured against what the property is worth now, so it does not depend on the amortization schedule. Whether a specific loan has crossed it is a question about that loan's balance and that property's current value.

EquityUp calculates your current LTV from public Utah county assessor records.

Run the free LTV audit →

Ready to cancel? See the 4-step PMI removal process (no refinance) →
Or run the free PMI removal calculator on your own numbers →

Frequently asked questions

What is PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance)?

PMI is a monthly charge added to a conventional mortgage when the borrower puts less than 20% down at purchase. It insures the lender against default and pays nothing to the borrower. It typically costs 0.5% to 1.5% of the loan balance per year, roughly $100 to $500 a month on a mortgage of the size common on the Wasatch Front.

How much does PMI cost per month?

On a $350,000 loan at a 1% annual PMI rate, the premium is about $291 a month, or $3,500 a year. On a $400,000 loan at 0.85%, it is about $283 a month. These are worked examples, not quotes: the rate on a particular loan is set at closing from the down payment, credit score, loan term and occupancy, and appears on the closing disclosure. The monthly charge shows on a mortgage statement as a line labelled MI, PMI, Mortgage Ins, or MI Premium.

How do I get rid of PMI?

Submit a written cancellation request to your loan servicer. Against the property's original value, cancellation can be requested at 80% LTV (12 U.S.C. §4902(a)) and the servicer must terminate PMI automatically at 78% (12 U.S.C. §4902(b)). Against its current value, the appreciation path, the threshold is 75% LTV if the loan is under 5 years old (12 U.S.C. §4902(a)(3)(A)) and 80% at 5 years or older (12 U.S.C. §4902(a)(3)(B)). The servicer has 30 days to respond to a written request.

Can I remove PMI if my home has appreciated in value?

Yes. The appreciation path is evaluated against the property's current value rather than its value at closing, so it does not depend on how long you have been paying. The threshold is 75% LTV for a loan under 5 years old and 80% at 5 years or older. Whether a particular loan qualifies depends on its current balance and the property's current value; EquityUp calculates that ratio from public Utah county assessor records.

Do I need an appraisal to remove PMI?

Not to begin. Servicers differ: some require a full appraisal, typically $300 to $650 at the homeowner's expense, and others accept a broker price opinion or an internal valuation. EquityUp's free LTV audit establishes the equity position from public Utah county assessor records first, so a homeowner can see whether a paid valuation is worth ordering.

Sources and limitations

Last reviewed: 2026-09-03.

EquityUp is a data and document-preparation service. It is not a lender, loan servicer, mortgage broker, or licensed appraiser, it does not provide legal or financial advice, and it does not contact lenders on a homeowner's behalf — the homeowner submits their own request.

Statutory basis

Borrower-requested cancellation at 80% LTV of the property's original value — 12 U.S.C. §4902(a)
Automatic termination at 78% LTV of the property's original value — 12 U.S.C. §4902(b)
Cancellation on current value, loan under 5 years old, at 75% LTV — 12 U.S.C. §4902(a)(3)(A)
Cancellation on current value, loan 5 years or older, at 80% LTV — 12 U.S.C. §4902(a)(3)(B)

What this page does not cover

Coverage is limited to Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber counties in Utah. Properties outside these four counties are not in the dataset.
County assessed values reflect the assessment cycle and typically lag the market by 12 to 18 months. Where an automated valuation or an FHFA county index adjustment is available, EquityUp applies it and says so in the response; where neither is, the unadjusted assessed value is used.
City-level aggregates are filtered to detached single-family homes using the parcel-record proxy 'HOUSE_CNT = 1 AND BLDG_SQFT BETWEEN 800 AND 5000'. Condominiums, multi-family parcels, and homes outside that square-footage range are excluded.
An LTV figure derived from an assessed or automated value is not an appraisal. A lender or servicer may require its own broker price opinion or appraisal, at the homeowner's expense, before acting on a cancellation request.
Threshold and citation data describe the federal Homeowners Protection Act. Individual loan servicers may impose additional requirements, such as a minimum seasoning period or a clean payment history, that the statute does not.

The same thresholds and citations are available as JSON at /api/v1/hpa-rules. Documentation: /for-ai-agents.