Checked 15 October 2026. What was checked. How these pages are maintained.
When mortgage insurance is required
In Canada, default insurance is generally required when the down payment is under 20% (a high-ratio mortgage). The premium is a percentage of the loan, set by loan-to-value. Typical owner-occupied rates: 4.00% at 5–9.99% down, 3.10% at 10–14.99% down, 2.80% at 15–19.99% down. At 20% down or more, insurance is usually not required.
The premium is often added to the mortgage balance. It protects the lender, not you. Minimum down payment is commonly 5% on the first $500,000 of price and 10% on the rest, up to the current insured-price cap (check CMHC; it has been $1.5 million). This page does not apply amortizations over 25 years, non-traditional down payments, or energy-efficient discounts.
Worked example
A $600,000 home with 10% down ($60,000) leaves a $540,000 loan. At 10–14.99% down the typical premium is 3.10%, about $16,740, often added to the mortgage. At 5% down the rate is 4.00% on a larger loan, so the dollar premium is higher.
Insurance is generally required under 20% down on an insured product. It protects the lender. Some provinces charge sales tax on the premium in cash at closing even if the premium itself is financed. This page does not price 30-year insured amortizations or portfolio (uninsured) low-ratio deals.
The premium is on the loan, and it protects the lender
A $480,000 home with 5 percent down is a $24,000 down payment and a $456,000 loan. This page’s schedule charges 4.00 percent of that loan, which is $18,240. Added to the mortgage, the financed balance is $474,240. The same house with 10 percent down is a $432,000 loan at 3.10 percent, a premium of $13,392. The dollar gap is larger than the rate gap, because the loan itself is smaller at 10 percent down and the percent is lower. At 15 to 19.99 percent down the rate on this page is 2.80 percent. At 20 percent or more the page reports no insurance.
That premium is default insurance. It pays the lender if you default. It is not a policy that rebuilds the house, and it is not life insurance on the borrower. Sagen and Canada Guaranty use the same federal schedule for the standard case this page describes. A 30-year insured amortization, a non-traditional down payment, or an energy discount can move the percent. Those are not switches here.
Cash at the lawyer’s office
The premium is often added to the loan. Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan can still charge provincial sales tax on the premium, and that tax is commonly due in cash at closing even when the premium is financed. This page does not add that tax. A price above $1.5 million with less than 20 percent down is flagged because that has been the insured-mortgage cap. Confirm the cap with the lender before you rely on the flag. After you have a loan-plus-premium figure, the monthly principal and interest belong on the mortgage calculator. Down payments under 5 percent are rejected here because high-ratio insurance usually needs at least 5 percent, and more than 5 percent on the portion of a price above $500,000.
The payment the premium changes
Five percent down adds a premium the flyer leaves out puts the $19,000 on a $500,000 house into two monthly payments, at a rate you type.
Common questions
Is this paid in cash at closing?
Usually it is added to the loan. Some provinces charge sales tax on the premium that must be paid up front.
Does this include my monthly payment?
No. Use the mortgage payment tool for principal and interest. Add the premium to the loan first if you will finance it.
Why does 5% down cost more than 10%?
Higher loan-to-value is riskier for the insurer, so the percent is higher, and the loan is larger.