PMI cancellation on a long-held loan: HPA dates, the midpoint rule and FHA MIP for seniors
A borrower who has paid on a loan since the 2000s is often past the point where the Homeowners Protection Act requires PMI to end; the dates that decide it are the loan’s closing date, its original amortization schedule and its midpoint.
Three dates on a long-held conventional loan
The Act covers single-family principal residences with loans closed on or after July 29, 1999. On those loans you may request cancellation in writing once the balance reaches 80% of the original value (the lesser of the purchase price and the original appraisal), provided payments are current with no 30-day late in the past year or 60-day late in the past two, no junior lien exists, and the value has not fallen, which the servicer may check with an appraisal at your expense. Insurance must terminate automatically when the scheduled balance hits 78%, and in any event at the midpoint of the amortization — month 180 of a 30-year loan — if the loan is current. A 30-year mortgage closed in 2010 reached its midpoint in 2025; check that the statement no longer shows a premium, and request a refund of any excess, which the servicer must return within 45 days.
Loans from before 1999 and loans that were modified
The statute does not reach a loan that closed before its effective date, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac apply cancellation rules to every loan they own, and many private investors do too. Those guidelines also allow cancellation based on current value after two years at 75% loan-to-value or after five years at 80%, which helps retirees whose home appreciated over a decade. A modification restarts the amortization schedule used for the 78% and midpoint calculations from the modified terms, so a borrower who modified in 2012 should ask the servicer for the new schedule rather than the original one.
Insurance the Act does not cancel
Lender-paid mortgage insurance is built into the rate and lasts for the life of the loan; the Act only requires that it be disclosed. FHA annual premiums follow HUD rules: for case numbers assigned after June 3, 2013, the premium lasts 11 years with 10% or more down and for the life of the loan otherwise, while earlier FHA loans cancel at 78% after five years. Refinancing to a conventional loan at 80% or below is the only exit on the life-of-loan cases; the PMI removal guide walks through the cost comparison. VA loans have no monthly insurance. A HECM’s 0.5% annual premium is not PMI and is never cancellable; it is the price of the non-recourse guarantee.
After a death or a transfer
The cancellation rights belong to the loan, not to a person. A surviving spouse or heir confirmed as a successor in interest under the servicing rules may request cancellation on the same terms. Servicers must send an annual notice of cancellation rights and a notice when termination occurs; if yours stopped arriving after a spouse died, ask for the current scheduled loan-to-value and the midpoint date in writing.
What to check
- Find the closing date and original value on the note; compute 80% and 78% from that value.
- Ask the servicer for the midpoint date of the current amortization schedule in writing.
- On an FHA loan, check the case number date to learn whether MIP ends at 11 years or never.
- Watch for any premium still billed after a modification or a servicing transfer.
Frequently asked questions
I have paid my 2009 mortgage for 17 years. Should PMI have stopped?
Almost certainly, if it is a conventional loan on your principal residence and you are current. The Act requires automatic termination at the midpoint of the amortization schedule, which for a 30-year loan is after 15 years, regardless of the loan-to-value ratio. Ask the servicer for the termination date and a refund of any premiums collected after it; the refund is due within 45 days.
Can a reverse mortgage’s insurance premium be cancelled once my equity is high?
No. The HECM mortgage insurance premium is charged by FHA to guarantee that you or your heirs never owe more than the home is worth and that payments continue if the lender fails. It is not private mortgage insurance, the Homeowners Protection Act does not apply, and the 0.5% annual premium accrues on the balance until the loan is repaid.
The rule in full: Homeowners Protection Act (PMI cancellation). The borrower profile: Retirees and senior borrowers. Related guides: Conventional loan requirements: credit, down payment, DTI, reserves, property · Conventional vs FHA vs VA vs USDA: the four loan types compared · PMI removal: the 80% request, the 78% automatic cancellation, and the appraisal route · PMI for first-time buyers: what it costs and how to get rid of it.
Other federal rules for retirees and senior borrowers
TILA / Reg Z · RESPA · TRID disclosures · ECOA · Fair Housing Act · HMDA · SAFE Act / NMLS · ATR / QM · HOEPA · Servicing rules · FCRA · Flood insurance · MARS rule · SCRA · LO compensation
HPA / PMI for other borrowers
First-time buyers · Conventional borrowers · Veterans · Self-employed · Investors · Bad credit · Foreign nationals · Physicians · Heroes · Rural buyers · Condo & second home · Refinancing