Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial is a private Canadian residential mortgage insurance provider that opened its doors in 1995.

Where is the company situated?

Genworth is located in Oakville, Ontario and operates a National Underwriting Centre that is open Monday – Saturday to better provide for their clientele.

What is Genworth’s mission?

In conjunction with the lenders they partner with, Genworth aims to help people purchase their dream homes. Furthermore, the company positions itself as Canada’s top mortgage provider by striving to define their role as one of the country’s leading insurers. They are one of three companies to offer mortgage insurance.

What products do they offer?

Genworth Financial provides mortgage insurance for residential home buyers and owners. Their insurance products are designed for:

• First time home buyers
• Self-employed mortgage holders
• Custom home construction mortgages
• 5% down payment mortgages
• New to Canada mortgages
• Vacation home mortgages
• Energy efficient home building and renovations

The product that Genworth is most known for is mortgage default insurance. Like CHMC and Canada Guaranty, the other two providers of this insurance in Canada, Genworth’s default insurance is for people whose down payment is less than 20% of their home’s purchase price.

In Canada, the lowest down payment you can have in order to buy a home is 5%. To keep interest rates from soaring and to allow every Canadian a chance to achieve their dream of home ownership, mortgage default insurance is put in place to safeguard the lender if something happens to the borrower and they can’t pay back the loan.

Does Genworth provide more than one type of mortgage?

Besides mortgage default insurance, Genworth Financial offers homeowners’ and condo insurance, as well as tenant’s insurance. Homeowners’ and condo insurance is issued to protect your property and its contents (computers, televisions and other valuables) against theft, water damage and other forms of destruction that are beyond your control. This insurance will also cover you if someone gets injured on your property, or if you have to move out temporarily while any damage is being repaired.

Tenant’s insurance is not actually for tenants; it is for landlords to ensure that they are not liable for any damage caused by their tenants. It also covers landlords from having to replace the contents of the rental unit should a break in occur. This insurance is in place to protect landlords, but it also protects tenants from having to pay out of pocket for uncontrollable damages caused by water or fire.