Mortgage term
Insured mortgage
Definition
A mortgage backed by default insurance from CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty. Required when the down payment is under 20%. Insured mortgages get the lowest rates because the lender carries no default risk.
Insured pricing sticks for the life of the amortization: if your original purchase was insured, every renewal — even at a different lender — keeps insured pricing, provided you don't increase the loan or amortization.
At renewal, this can be a 0.15%–0.30% advantage over uninsured rates. It's one of the most under-appreciated pricing benefits in Canadian mortgages.