The launch date for the program is scheduled for Monday, October 23, and we will update you further on which lenders will be offering this program. Also, we are in the process of updating the calculators on the www.invis.ca website to include amortizations of up to 40 years – this functionality will be up and running later today.

The pricing of this new product is the standard insurance premium plus 60 basis points. For example on a 95% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage with a 40-year amortization, the insurance rate would be 3.35% (standard rate of 2.75% plus 0.60% = 3.35%).

Here’s an example of how a $200,000 mortgage with 95% LTV would work for four different amortizations at 5.30%, with no prepayments:

Clearly, savings on the monthly payment with the extended amortizations must be balanced against the higher insurance costs, higher amounts of interest paid during the life of the mortgage, and the fact that home equity will build more slowly.

Not every lender will offer this particular Genworth product, which strengthens the argument that the best approach for any consumer in Canada is to turn to a mortgage broker for maximum mortgage choice, along with professional advice