Executive Conversations is a HousingWire web series that profiles powerful people in the financial industry, highlighting the operations and the people that make this sector tick. In the latest installment, we sit down with David Gansberg, president and CEO of Arch MI, to talk about the company's new risk-based model for pricing mortgage insurance coverage.
Q. What’s new at Arch MI?
A. Since its inception, Arch MI has encouraged its customers to expect more from mortgage insurance (MI) providers as we established our reputation for new and innovative product offerings. Arch MI was the first and only MI company to offer Portfolio Power – the most secure mortgage insurance created exclusively for portfolio lenders. Arch MI developed the MI industry’s only community banking program, designed to help community banks grow their mortgage lending base. Arch MI also released the most comprehensive training toolkit of any MI company for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules.
Today, we continue down the path of innovation and product development with the introduction of Arch MI RateStar – our new risk-based model for pricing mortgage insurance (MI) coverage.
RateStar evaluates a variety of loan and borrower characteristics to determine an appropriate premium rate tied directly to the risk of the loan so that Arch MI can provide the most complete and precise rate. RateStar goes well beyond traditional rate sheets to provide competitive MI premium rates.
Q. What exactly is Arch MI RateStar?
A. RateStar is a risk-based pricing model that dynamically assesses a unique combination of loan characteristics and risk factors to determine the most complete and precise MI premium rate for each loan.
RateStar uses the same data attributes found in traditional rate sheets and finely tunes our model to find unique combinations as well as ranges of difference within those attributes on which to price.
Importantly, RateStar requires little to no process change for lenders, and is supported by Arch MI’s superior, personalized customer service teams.
Q. How do Arch MI customers access RateStar?
A. RateStar can be accessed anytime, anywhere.
- It’s integrated with all major industry LOS and pricing engines for banks, community banks and Credit Unions
- It’s conveniently accessible from our homepage at archmi.com and our origination platform, ArchMIConnect
- Customers on the go can use our mobile app to access RateStar whenever, wherever they want
Q. How do customers obtain rates through Arch MI RateStar?
A. Via our RateStar portal, verified users enter specified loan characteristics and quickly obtain a rate quote. There they can save, share or print the quote for future reference and view side-by-side comparisons to pick an MI option that's best for their borrower.
Q. Are quotes obtained through Arch MI RateStar guaranteed?
A. Once a lender has submitted the additional information required to finalize the initial rate quote, the loan receives a RateStar Final Quote. Arch MI promises to honor RateStar Final Quotes for 90 days.
Arch MI’s promise gives the lender 90 days to prepare the loan for closure and submit the loan for insurance Commitment. So long as there is no change to the submitted loan information, Arch MI will honor the quoted rate unless prohibited by law.
Q. What aspects of the RateStar solution do you feel will be most popular?
A. RateStar is easy! At Arch MI, every technology tool we design prioritizes ease of use.
- Access– RateStar is available everywhere our customers originate loans.
- Design– Like Arch MI’s mobile app, RateStar has a simple, intuitive design unique in the industry.
- Speed– It’s fast and efficient, delivering an MI quote in seconds, including FHA comparisons.
- Seamlessness– Any process change for the lender is minimal or nonexistent. RateStar is ready to go from any of the portals chosen to access it.
Q. How does Arch MI RateStar benefit your customers?
A. RateStar is a dynamic solution delivering a wide range of benefits for mortgage originators.
There’s the obvious, immediate benefit of a hassle-free user experience when requesting MI rate quotes. Time is more critical than ever in this business, so RateStar is an efficient way to shorten turnaround times.
Fundamentally, RateStar rewards the origination of high-quality loans. With RateStar, lenders can compete more effectively, seek out fresh opportunities and open up new markets.
