Insurance Counseling For Home Buyers Announced By PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Illinois Task Force; Unique course helps low- and moderate-income borrowers shop for homeowners insurance

Business Wire, July 27, 1995

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 1995--A new pre-purchase education program that teaches low- and moderate-income, first-time home buyers about homeowners' and mortgage insurance was released today by a task force of national and Illinois state insurance experts and regulators, including officials from PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. (PMI). The new education program was formally presented at a Chicago conference of non-profit housing officials sponsored by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NRC) and the Neighborhood Housing Services of America, Inc. (NHSA). The NRC and NHSA are incorporating the new insurance education program into their own national pre-purchase counseling efforts.

Developed by the education subcommittee of the Urban Insurance Issues Task Force of the Illinois Department of Insurance, the program is designed to teach first-time, low- and moderate-income home buyers about property, casualty, hazard, and fire insurance, and how to shop for price quotes. The mortgage insurance module developed by the PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. explains why lenders require mortgage insurance, the differences between private and government mortgage insurance programs, what happens when there is a claim, and when mortgage insurance polices can be canceled.

"We are pleased that the Illinois Department of Insurance and the insurance industry invited us to contribute our expertise to this important project," said W. Roger Haughton, President and Chief Executive Officer of The PMI Group, Inc. "Helping low- and moderate-income, first-time borrowers understand, and gain access to, the different types of insurance needed to secure a mortgage advances PMI's corporate mission to expand homeownership opportunities. We applaud all of the participants who created this new program, and the NRC and NHSA for using it to help low- and moderate-income families achieve the American Dream."

For several years, the private mortgage insurance industry has provided counseling to low- and moderate-income and first-time borrowers in conjunction with targeted loan programs. In addition to being the only private mortgage insurer involved in the development of the Illinois homeowners' insurance training program, PMI was the first private mortgage insurer to offer free, post-purchase delinquency intervention on a nationwide basis in English and Spanish through 1,100 community-based non-profit organizations.

"We're very excited about this effort by the homeowner insurance companies to promote lending to low- and moderate-income, first-time home buyers," said Juliette B. Madison, PMI Vice President of Community Outreach and Corporate Relations. "Only through committed, pro-active alliances that involve all of the parties in the lending process -- the secondary market agencies, the lenders, the mortgage insurers, and the property and casualty insurers -- can we truly succeed in offering homeownership opportunities to qualified borrowers in America's diverse communities," Madison said.

The training materials are copyrighted by the Illinois Department of Insurance, but the department is allowing non-profit groups and insurance departments in other states to copy and customize them for their own use. Over 500 non-profit organizations across the country have already received copies of the training program, according to the task force.

In addition to PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. officials, the Illinois consumer education subcommittee included representatives from the Allstate Insurance Company, the National Association of Independent Insurers, the University of Illinois Extension Service, State Farm Insurance Company, the Illinois Department of Insurance, and the Illinois Insurance Information Service. The Urban Insurance Task was created by the Illinois Department of Insurance in 1993.

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. is a San Francisco-based, private mortgage guaranty insurer of residential mortgages. Established in 1972, PMI is a subsidiary of The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE:PMA) and is licensed to do business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. PMI is the third largest private mortgage insurer in the United States based on 1994 year-end insurance in-force of $66 billion.

CONTACT: PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.

Brad German, 703/934-6352