CMHC Insurance
Calculator —
2026 Premiums.

How CMHC mortgage insurance premiums work in Canada

When you buy a home with less than 20% down, federal rules require mortgage default insurance — provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Sagen (formerly Genworth), or Canada Guaranty. All three are priced almost identically; your lender chooses which insurer to use. The premium protects the lender if you default, but the cost is yours. It is calculated as a percentage of the mortgage amount based on your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio — the higher your LTV, the higher the premium rate.

Premium rates by loan-to-value (2026)

The premium climbs in steps as your down payment shrinks. A 5%-down buyer (95% LTV) pays the top 4.00% rate; a 20%-down buyer pays nothing because the mortgage is conventional and uninsured.

The premium is added to your mortgage — not paid upfront

Unlike land transfer tax or legal fees, the CMHC premium is almost always financed into your mortgage balance and paid off over the amortization. The donut above shows how your base loan and premium combine into the total you actually borrow. One cash exception: Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan charge PST on the premium (8% in Ontario), and that sales tax is due at closing rather than financed. Plan for it alongside your other closing costs.

Worked example: a $700,000 home with 10% down

Say you’re buying a home priced at $700,000 with a down payment of $70,000 — that’s 10%, so a down payment of less than 20%, and mortgage loan insurance is mandatory. Your base mortgage loan is $630,000, which is a loan-to-value of 90.0%. That lands in the 85.01%–90% band, so the premium rate is 3.10%.

The premium works out to $630,000 × 3.10% = $19,530. Rather than paying that in cash, it’s financed on top of your loan, bringing your total mortgage to $649,530. So the real insurance costs here don’t hit your bank account at closing — they’re spread across your amortization (aside from provincial PST on the premium, which is paid at closing in ON, QC and SK).

At an assumed rate of 4.49% (illustrative, not a quote) amortized over 25 years, that $649,530 total works out to a monthly payment of about $3,591 — roughly $108 a month more than the $3,483 you’d pay on the $630,000 base loan alone. Because insured mortgages often qualify for the lowest advertised rates, that rate discount can offset much of the premium. Model the difference in our affordability calculator.

Is this the right “mortgage insurance”? CMHC default vs mortgage protection

“Mortgage insurance” is used for two completely different products, and this calculator covers only the first. Mortgage default insurance (CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty) is mandatory when you’re buying a home with less than 20% down; this loan insurance protects the mortgage lender if you stop making mortgage payments, and the premium is added to your mortgage. It does nothing for your family.

Mortgage protection insurance is the other kind — optional coverage meant to pay off the mortgage for your family, not the lender. It comes in three forms: mortgage life insurance (pays the balance if you die), critical illness coverage (a lump sum on a covered diagnosis), and disability insurance (keeps up your payments if you can’t work). Because this life and critical illness protection is for your household, a personal term-life policy is usually the cheaper, more flexible way to get it.

Not sure which you need? Start with the full mortgage insurance guide, compare mortgage life vs term life, or read how CMHC insurance works. Tougher file — bruised credit or self-employed? See bad-credit mortgages, or get started with Mortgage Squad Advisors.