OCBC Bank unveils 100% refundable mortgage insurance plan

This is the first in Singapore.

According to a release, OCBC Bank has launched Singapore’s first mortgage insurance plan – Mortgage Protector Advantage (MPA) – that allows the customer to pay annual premiums, then refunds all the premiums to the customer at the end of the policy term if no claim is made.

Mortgage insurance products available today do not have a premium refund feature.

Mortgage Protector Advantage is underwritten by The Overseas Assurance Corporation Limited (OAC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Great Eastern Holdings Limited and a member of the OCBC Group.

The new product is meant to address one signal fact: According to a survey conducted with 300 private property owners by OCBC Bank in 2011, 59% do
not have mortgage insurance.

The Bank estimates that the percentage of home loan customers who do not buy mortgage insurance has remained relatively flat over the years, even though customers have taken larger loans as a result of rising home prices.