Insured vs Insurable vs Uninsurable — Mortgage Comparison

Insured vs. Insurable vs. Uninsurable — What Brokers Actually Mean

These three words get used loosely, but they describe a specific, verifiable fact about a mortgage: whether it carries — or is eligible to carry — government-backed default insurance from CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty. That status affects the rate a lender will offer, the maximum amortization allowed, and the qualifying stress-test math. A borrower almost never knows their own status without checking the original mortgage documents, and current loan-to-value alone doesn't reveal it either — a mortgage that started at 5% down and has since been paid down to 60% LTV is still an originally-insured mortgage.

Insured (High-Ratio)

A purchase with less than 20% down, a purchase price under $1.5M (the ceiling since the December 2024 reform), and a home occupied by the borrower or a close relative. The borrower pays a default-insurance premium at closing — this is the only category where the borrower directly pays for the insurance. Amortization is capped at 25 years, extended to 30 years only for first-time buyers or new construction.

Insurable (Low-Ratio)

20%+ down, price under $1M, amortization of 25 years or less, and owner-occupied if it is a single-unit property. "Insurable" means the mortgage meets the government's criteria for a lender to bulk-insure it through portfolio insurance — it describes eligibility, not a transaction the borrower took part in. A mortgage can sit in this category for its entire life without ever having a premium attached, because only the lender decides whether to portfolio-insure a book of insurable mortgages.

Uninsurable (Conventional)

A mortgage that meets neither of the above — for example, a price at or above $1M with 20%+ down, an amortization over 25 years, or a standard equity-takeout refinance. The lender carries the full default risk itself. Because of that added risk, uninsurable mortgages are typically priced highest of the three, though this is a market tendency rather than a fixed rule.

Renewals, Switches, and Refinances

For renewals and switches, the tool above asks whether a premium was paid at origination rather than recalculating from current value and balance, because current loan-to-value can't reveal original insured status; confirm switch terms with the lender and insurer. For uninsured mortgages, OSFI exempts eligible straight switches at federally regulated lenders (no increase in loan amount or amortization) from its prescribed minimum qualifying rate. A standard equity-takeout refinance is different: increasing the loan amount normally makes the resulting mortgage uninsurable, even if the original mortgage was insured, with narrow exceptions for specific insured-refinance programs.

For the consumer-facing version of this question — will my mortgage pass the stress test — see the mortgage stress test calculator. For premium amounts by down payment tier, see the CMHC insurance calculator.